A Gentle Breeze Before the Storm
by FsDxRAGE
Summary: With only several days left before the trial on Earth, Tali and Shepard land on Terra Nova for resupply and yet another short vacation, meeting a couple of very important people to Shepard. This is their last peace before the war.
1. Chapter 1

A Gentle Breeze Before the Storm

It was any day now. Stress from the upcoming trial tugged on Shepard's face, it looked as if he had aged a decade. Tali knew it was the stress and she felt it constricting in her chest, making her breaths shorter, as if an orgy of snakes were choking the life from her lungs like they would a stubborn rodent. After their vacation on Diamond Cove in Illium, taking out the Shadow Broker, and Shepard's lone mission that led to the trial, she knew time's tether was pulling them closer to the climax. Sighing, Tali grabbed Shepard's hand, playing with his fingers once again, like she always does. It was a nervous habit she had picked up, but Shepard didn't mind it at all. Their taxi hummed and the driver was speaking softly into his headset as he weaved through the capital city of Terra Nova. The Normandy was resupplying herself before making her final destination to Earth for the trial all of them dreaded. This trip, as Shepard said, was probably going to be their last time in peace before the war.

Timidly, Tali whispered, "Shepard, what…how do you know this is going to be the last time we get to spend in peace?" Her voice lightened the mood in the drab interior of the taxi and his mouth sloped upwards into a crooked smile.

"We will talk about this later." He motioned his head towards the driver, mouthed "_top secret,"_ and grinned. The last time they were off world and not getting shot at was back on Illium during their wonderful "vacation." Tali had the sinking feeling this was to be their last until the Reapers arrive, whenever that was going to be. Honestly, she didn't want to think about it; today was their day and Shepard said he was bringing her to a very special place on this human colony. The driver flicked his eyes to the rearview mirror giving Tali a suspicious look. He obviously has had his head in the sand as he hasn't noticed Shepard, nor knew who he was in that case. This city was different compared to all of the others she has seen. The buildings were all white and clean, glazed in one of summer's sporadic rain showers. She liked the rain, a lot in fact, but the sun has always been a more enticing sight than bruised sky. The taxi's seatbelt dug into her hips as they decelerated towards low-set buildings on the ground.

"Can you tell me what we are doing, Shep?"

"Not yet, I want it a surprise. I know you are going to love it."

Tali patted her lap and tapped the heels of her feet anxiously. She hated surprises and always had. When younger, she remembers whenever it was her birthday, she couldn't sleep the previous night as she wondered what her parents would get her as a gift. Squirming in the seat, Tali gripped her shoulder harness and leaned to peer out the window of the cab. Shepard's arm snaked around her shoulder, pulling her away from the window, the gateway that taunted her undying need for an answer.

"I haven't seen you like this in a while."

Tali batted his hand away from her and spat, "I hate surprises, and you know that!"

"Good."

"Good?"

"Yeah, good. It will make it all sweeter. I can't wait to see your face."

"But you can't see my face, Shepard."

"I know what your grin looks like." He closed his eyes and smiled. "I can see it as clear as day."

She couldn't help but smile.

"Thirty credits," he driver coughed. Shepard swiped his credit chit and both exited the taxi. Swiveling her head, Tali searched for clues. The building was sail-shaped with cobalt glass and had big letters painted on the front saying _Ron's Historic Transportation._

Before Tali could lay a thick blanket of questions on Shepard, a man in a striped suit walked out, his voice booming across the landing pad.

"Welcome Commander, good to finally meet you!"

"Shepard?" Tali asked. Both men shook hands and Tali stared at the funny looking man's attire. He wore black leather shoes that were so polished, they hurt her eyes, a bowler hat, and his suit was striped with robin-egg's blue and yellow fabric. Every finger on his orange had held huge rings and his wrist weighed down by a gold, old-fashioned watch with three little ticking hands. Tali affixed an unbreakable gaze on the watch, fascinated by its mechanical design.

"Mr. Gooding, this is Tali'Zorah," Shepard introduced. Shepard's powerful arm pushed her into his chest trying to get her attention.

"Oh, hello," she stuttered.

"Do you like my watch?"

"I…no, I was just…"

"Yes she does, Mr. Gooding. Tali here is my ship's chief engineer and mechanical genius."

"How old is that," she asked, still targeted on the watch.

"It is about two-hundred years old, made in Switzerland." Tali raised an eyebrow. "Oh, yes. That is a country back on Earth. Fine engineers, not as good as you quarians are."

"Were," Tali said.

"Were, then." Mr. Gooding clapped his hands, cutting the awkward moment. "Well then, do you want to see the car you rented? I think Misses Zorah is going to appreciate it." Both Shepard and Tali smiled bashfully at the title Mr. Gooding gave her. She would have corrected him, but she liked it that way better.

"_Misses,_" she lisped under her breath. One day hat is going to be her official title. After the war, one day they will make that last official bond. For now though, she was going to enjoy this day and she could feel it revving up to be a stellar one. The business was located on an airfield right outside the city. For miles, white stretches of pavement filled the empty landscape like smears on an oil painting, and Tali could see the heat's hot, sweaty breath rippling off of the damp concrete. The man in the funny suit led both of them to a canvas hangar on the airfield. If they had more time, she would have loved to look at all of the old human aircraft strewn across the field. From history books growing up on the Flotilla and her from her own entertainment, Tali knew exactly what these aircrafts were. Quarians once had propeller and jet mounted aircraft many, many years ago and she has always wanted to lay eyes on one in the flesh.

"Shepard, those airplanes are magnificent!"

"They are very old, but have lots of charm. Those were flown in a time when men were men and those used liquid propellant." He pointed at one about fifty feet away. "I think that is a MiG 15, and old human aircraft. Now that, one day, we will have to fly."

"Do you know how to fly?"

"Uh, no. Joker can't fly it either, it would kill him with gravity."

Tali thought about having all that power jammed between her legs, literally sitting on a rocket and being one with the machine. The ships nowadays are better, but flying one of those older ones would be magnificent. She had to tear her gaze away from the aluminum body and the yellow tipped wings when they walked into the hangar that held a car Shepard rented for the two them.

"Well, here it is you two," the funny dressed man said. Tali's breath was stolen from her when she saw the car. It looked funny though. There were two circles on both ends of the sleek red body and it was smaller than the cars she is used to seeing flying in cities.

"Are those…what are those rubber air sacks on it?" Tali looked up to Shepard's face, frantically grabbing his hand. "What is it?"

"A 1967 Corvette ," Mr. Gooding replied with a grin.

"Wow." Shepard ran a hand through the stubble on his chin. "Tali."

"Yes?"

"As a kid, I had this car pinned on my wall. I have never seen one in person before because they are so rare. I know there are a couple on Earth, but I never really lived on Earth, so I never saw one." The grin on his face was priceless. Grabbing his hand, she led him over the candy apple red vehicle, pulling him closer to the machine of his childhood dreams. The creases of stress evaporated from his face as he ran a hand over the hood of the car.

"I take it this doesn't fly around like a normal car."

"Correct, Tali." Mr. Gooding popped the hood and what lay under the bonnet was, to say the least, engineering porn. Gasping, Tali recoiled when she set eyes on the heart and soul of the machine. Her eyes, like a starved beast, ravenously feasted on the chrome knobs, tubes, lumps, curved pieces of metal and blue rubber wires spouting out of the engine. She had no idea what she was gazing at, but it was so sweet to stare at she could have contracted diabetes.

"I have seen some of the most advanced engines, ships, and craftsmanship in my twenty-four years of life, but this is gorgeous, Shepard. Can you…explain to me what I am looking at, though?" Chewing on her tongue, Tali gripped both hands behind her back and stood on her heels. Both men explained the combustion engine, something about 427 cubic inches of something-or-another, rubber tires, transmissions, and a bunch of other stuff she couldn't recall, but seeing Shepard talk engines was…arousing.

"Well then, I should leave you and Misses Zorah to your day out." Mr. Gooding backed away, his shoes clapping loudly against the pavement until he disappeared completely, leaving Shepard and Tali alone with a monster dressed in an elegant red gown.

"Well then, Shepard," Tali made two fists, flicking her wrists upwards, anxious to pull on the chrome door handle, "May I?"

"Be my guest."

Hungrily, she yanked on the handle and she could feel the old world engineering in the solid unlatching sound. Metal on metal always made her happy. Shepard followed suit and Tali plopped herself in the black leather seat. Through her mask, she could pick up the trace scent of animal hide and its conditioning compound. It was the closest she has gotten to Shepard's home planet.

"Isn't using animal skin kind of…gross to sit in?"

"It is the highest quality stuff to use in cars, Tali." His browns knitted together. "Yes, it is clean."

Embarrassed, she batted off the fire in her cheeks and played with the mirror. Even though Shepard couldn't see her face, he knew her well enough to know she was on fire. Flustered, she knew her body moments gave her away, she shot a glance at Shepard to see if he noticed.

"Stop squirming Tali, it is okay," he chuckled.

"Start the thing up," she spat half embarrassed, half amuse by the whole silly situation. Sometimes her ignorance about the human culture and anything else not starships got on her nerves; most of all though, Tali felt she was rubbish at romance, but Shepard didn't seem to mind, nor notice. For romance tips, Tali would talk to Kasumi about it all. Through their many talks and helpful guidance Kasumi gave Tali about the whole subject, she knew she could trust her judgment. Feeling her thoughts wondering, she shook her head and gripped the door, having no idea as to what this Karvette, or whatever it was called, was going to be like. Shepard sensed her trepidation and grinned.

"I know I know, Shepard."

"What?"

"I have been on ships with a million times more power than this and I am kind of nervous about an engine that can fit on Grunt's dinner plate and he would still have room for desert and a gallon of milk."

Chuckling, he responded, "Milk?"

"Yeah, milk." Raising an eyebrow, she said, "Have you never seen his late night raids in the kitchen?" Shepard slung his arm over the car door intrigued about this news. "Oh, well I have seen Jack and Grunt have milk drinking competitions when most of the crew is asleep."

"Why haven't I been told about this?"

Shrugging, Tali said, "Well, I didn't think you would care. Although Zaeed spiked Jack's gallon with alcohol once time and you know what? She acts like a really normal person when drunk, which I thought was weird. Oh, I am babbling again…"

"That makes sense. Gardner wanted to put a lock on the refrigerator because he has been planning on making something with the milk, but he said it keeps on disappearing."

Giggling, she said, "I didn't mean to rat them out." She put a hand over her mouth.

"I will keep quiet and let Gardner do his own investigation work. Milk is the last of my worries" Shepard handed Tali the keys to the Kornvette, or whatever it was called again. "Do you want to start it up?"

Placing a fist on her chest, she asked in a squeal, "Me?"

"Yeah, put the pointy end into the slit and twist to your right."

Tali slammed it into the hole and pulled the key hard to the right. The car coughed then roared to life, sputtering a chorus of crude notes. Both Shepard and Tali died laughing at the obnoxious noise of the eight cylinder engine. It was fantastic. Nothing could compare to it. The Normandy was quiet and smooth, but this car's vibrations races up her back giving her goose bumps and the desirable urge to hear more of the engine's obscene voice. Shepard pulled a lever with his right hand and the car roared out of the hangar. Raw wind ripped by her helmet and she had to quickly reprogram the audio sensors so she could hear the soundtrack of the car and the wind in her hood as the helmet sensed too high of a decibel level. The car, as Shepard said, was a convertible, so the brilliant blue sky was the only thing hanging over their heads. Total freedom, this was the definition of it. Looking in the rearview mirror, Tali could see the city dissolving into a silver line on the horizon. As Terra Nova is now booming with development, the city is the hub of the planet and the rest is rural grassland with forest, but will soon be developed. Because of this, there are crudely paved roads running south into soon to be developed suburban areas.

The engine roared, shooting a sense of ecstasy up Tali's spine. She was grimacing, wanting more power, wanting to go faster into the far unknown. The Hornvette, or something like that, was pumped so full of testosterone, she could feel its gravitational pull and sense its indoctrinating effects tearing at her feminine qualities. All she wanted was more of it. Her finger tips were digging into her palms and all muscles were tense. She felt herself leaning forward, gripping onto the dashboard as the white painted lines in the center of the street changed to a zipping blur of ice. Shepard found another gear and the Vette bellowed like a fog horn, building up RPMs and hitting 120 miles per hour. She knew that this speed was nothing compared to her baby, the Normandy, but damn did this feel quicker than anything else. Over 500 horses, which she knew was an animal and couldn't see how this measurement was calculated to a brick of metal, was about two feet away from her curled up toes. To her left, a shaft was spinning at blazing speeds, smoothly spun by greasy ball bearings and oily nuts and bolt. Keelah, she just wanted to tear her teeth into the car, learn everything about it, take it apart, get all grimy and greasy. This is the pinnacle of her engineering career, riding in a true machine that is over 200 years old. Tali unsnapped her hood and let it flail hopelessly behind her. She knew that it was causing drag and all she wanted to do was go faster.

"Faster, Shepard, faster!" She patted the dashboard and rocked in her seat, trying to give the car more forward momentum. Teeth clenched tight, Shepard took her hand and put it on the steering wheel.

"Steer it, Tali!" Laughing childishly, she gripped the wheel and delicately kept it stable. "Pull the shifter down, Tali!" She let go of the wheel and pulled the white knob towards her lap. It snapped into place and the engine's revs went down. This was fantastic, beyond anything she would have hoped for on this trip. It was just her, Shepard, and a beautiful machine. "Tali, let go of the shifter, I need to slow down." Still gripped by excitement, she let go of the knob and forced her hands to their designated position: in her lap.

"Sorry."

Shepard laughed and noticed her hands were shaking,

"Incredible, isn't it?"

"Why do people pilot flying vehicle? This is _so _much better!"

"That, sweetheart, is just one of those unanswerable questions."

Finally, it hit her. Why were they driving out to the middle of nowhere? Surely the car wasn't the only reason why they are making a trip out here.

"Shepard." Tali put a hand up to her mask, instinctively attempting to flick away a wisp of hair from her face from the ferocious wind, but remembered the helmet. "Where are we going?" Shepard fixed the collar of his leather jacket and his grin went wide with untamed excitement.

"We are visiting two people that are very, very special to me."

Wrinkling her brow, she thought for a second, but couldn't figure it out.

"Special?"

"Yes. If these two people didn't exist, then I would never have met you, Tali." She pulled a fist up to her chest when it finally sunk it.

"Are we going to see your grandparents?"

Shepard's two blue eyes glassed over and he nodded his head up and down.

_Well then, it has been a while since I wrote a funfiction staring your favorite crew member! Here is a shot at it again, I will attempt to melt faces, but I fear I am rusty/lost my touch. Let me know how I am doing so far…._


	2. Chapter 2

A Gentle Breeze before the Storm Part II

Tali's jaw unhinged, dangling dangerously close to her lap. Ever since she has truly gotten to know Shepard, he has never really talked about his family, then again, they have been preparing for a suicide mission, and Saren before that. Now though, their relationship has become much more intimate and they have began sharing the little details about their lives that makes a person feel whole, flawed, and real. Staring at Shepard, Tali released her adrenaline filled grip on the Corvette's dashboard. She has always wanted to meet his mother, whom has been brought up occasionally, but his grandparents really never came to her mind before. Before pursuing a "more than friend" relationship with him, Shepard was like a super soldier to her, a big brother that appeared so incredible, his brilliance outshined the little details and miniscule qualities of him that she has recently discovered had more of an impact on he than anything else. No words really came to mind that were note worthy to say, but Tali found her lips moving before her brain went into action.

"You have grandparents?"

Shepard propped his arm on the open window and laughed, "Yes Tali, I have grandparents. They are old, wrinkly, and smell funny, like any other grandparent."

"Smell…funny?"

Shepard's face went blank.

"Well, I mean, sort of." Squinting, Tali laughed and Shepard followed suit. "They are good people, Tali." He grabbed her little hand. "They'll love you."

Her cheeks caught fire and she was afraid her polarized veil would fog up. The landscape stretched out for miles and the tarmac smelled freshly baked from the sun. Lakes and temperate forests began to sprout from nowhere. Terra Forma, the more south you goes, becomes more of a desert, but humans have been planting forests and vegetation to reverse desertification over the many years the settlement has been on the planet. All of that was interesting to Tali, especially since she took a geology class when she was little on the Flotilla, but what gripped her thoughts was Shepard's grandparents. She loved meeting new people, not as much as making new friendships with engines, but it was still up on the list she had in her head. Again, she spoke before thinking.

"So, they are old?"

"Huh?"

"No, wait, I mean…um, how old are they?"

"Right around seventy, I think."

Shepard put the car into a higher gear, making it easier to talk over the beast under the hood, which was draped in a silk gown. Tali just wanted to bury her head in embarrassment.

_You stupid bosh'tet, you are a smart girl. Say something intelligent._

"Have you talked about me to them," she asked.

"I have, yes," he said with a grin.

"What…what do they think about me?" Tali sat straighter in the bucket seat, yearning to hear what Shepard had to say.

"They said you sounded lovely. I sent them some pictures of us on Diamond Cove. My grandpa said you knew how to kick a ball." Shepard turned to Tali. "He saw what you did to Jacob's face during the game with everyone back on the beach a month ago."

Tali gasped, remembering those few days and remembered turning Jacob's face into a swollen mass.

"Was…I in any of those pictures?"

"Well yes, Tali. They said that they cannot wait to meet you."

Sinking back into the seat, she became suddenly nervous. Shepard is the biggest hero in the galaxy at the moment, the best soldier, and a soon to be superstar. What would they think of her? A quarian engineer with a human Spectre, would they approve? Shepard could sense her uneasiness as she was squirming in the seat and playing with her thumbs.

"Tali, seriously, they are going to love you. Honey, look at me."

Her head slowly turned.

"You are _so _much better than whatever you think in that skull of yours. Besides, they are very open to…well, you know, aliens." He put a finger under her sagging chin and looked away from the road for a dire moment, "Once they get to know you, they will see the sheer amount of energy you have, your brilliance, the cheer you emit, and how 'human' you actually are."

All of those things he said made her melt on the inside. Anything that comes from his mouth is the truth and means an enormous deal to her. A holographic panel opened on the screen and spoke.

"Turn left in one kilometer."

"Oh Keelah, I am nervous!"

"There is no need to be," Shepard reassured.

Tali's overactive mind blitzed her with ridiculous ideas and what-ifs.

"Keelah, it is just…I have never been in a relationship before or had a boyfriend or anything!" She nervously giggled, "I mean, isn't meeting the parents, well in this case obviously, grandparents, like you know…a big deal? I mean, what if they happen, I know it might not happen, but what if, you know, they offer me food? I _have _to turn them down because I can't eat it! Will I _huuurt _their feelings? Will they understand? Do I have to explain how quarians work to them?"

"Tali, I—"

"No Shepard! I know I babble when I get nervous, and I get nervous talking about quarian physiology to people. I mean, I can go on for hours! I have seen movies about this when doing research on humans. What if…what if?" She leaned over to Shepard, her face an inch away from his. He went cross-eyed looking at Tali's smoked purple mask which filled his view and blocked the road. "What if they ask us about our sex life?"

"Tal—"

Putting all six fingers up to where her lips were, she gasped, "Keelah, isn't that a normal thing to converse with humans, especially human grandparents?"

"No, I—"

"I don't think I could talk about that!"

"My grandp—"

"What do I do with these when I talk about that stuff?" Tali held up her hands, staring at them nervously. "You know I flail them around when nervous! What if I hit a lamp when talking about…you-know-what in front of them! I could burn their house down!" Shepard grabbed her slender hands and pushed them under her bum.

"Tali, let me speak!"

"But Shep—"

"_Shhhhh_! Calm down, now Tali, calm down." Shepard held in a barely contained surge of laughing, his face was changing color.

"Oh Keelah, you look sick!"

"No Tali, I am not sick and they are not going to talk about that kind of stuff."

"But…_oh_. They aren't?"

"No darling! What kind of videos did you watch on human interaction?"

Deeply embarrassed, she said, "I don't remember."

Shepard took a left on a lonely road that went towards what looked like a lake in the distance. Palm trees lined the sides of the street, which caught both of their attentions. She has never seen many trees in her life and these were new to her.

"If I recall correctly, I think those grow coconuts on them," Shepard whispered, the vehicle downshifting. As soon as he said that, a question came to Tali's mind. She plucked it out of the raging torrent and tied to put it through her lips without embarrassing herself.

"Have you been to their house here before?"

"Yes. I used to spend my summer vacations here. This is where most of my calm childhood memories rest."

"Calm?" Tali asked.

Shepard peered over to her and said, "You can't imagine me sitting on my ass when I was a kid, can you? With my Junior Alliance program in school and well, school, as a kid, I was always busy. I can't imagine seeing you being lazy as a kid either."

"No. When I first got my suit, I was a handful, but Mother said I was too sweet to get angry at." Tali grinned, looking at her lap. "She said when I was little and she yelled at me, I used to stand on my tippy toes with hands behind me back and say, 'But I love you, Mommy' in a pitiful voice."

Shepard looked at her and said, "Well that would work on me."

"I guess I was a smart youngster then."

The seatbelt dug into Tali's chest as the car came to a slowdown.

"Here it is then," he murmured nostalgically, turning off the car. A moderately sized house sat atop a hill, its grass glistening with the sky's tears. The house looked like a white crystal, plucked from a cave and placed by a giant in the finest setting it could find; well by a big happy giant who lived side-by-side with giant butterflies and giant flowers and giant trees. But never mind those stupid thoughts, Tali had more important things to do than think about happy giants, like think of something impressionable to say when Shepard's grandparents open the door. Crickets chirped in the distance, a new noise for Tali, although she has heard them before, but never in person. Terra Nova's sun was dipping lower in the sky and the time was closing in on the evening. The sun was a now a honeyed wafer instead of a molten disk of copper and the Vette crackled as the engine cooled. She stared at Shepard and noticed his face creased with anxiety, both hands still clamped onto the wheel like slabs of white marble.

"Shepard?"

Not tearing a gaze away from the house he said, "Hum?"

"Are you okay?"

"I…it has been a while. I am not sure what they will see me as. I just hope they are not expecting me to be the same person, the same kid they last saw." Tali put a hand on his face, shattering his gaze but picked up the shards so he could look at her.

"I don't think they will notice, I mean you sent them pictures of yourself, right?" Shepard sighed and Tali realized he meant his personality. He has gone through hell and back and made another round trip after that. They have seen things together that have scared them forever. Almost every night, both are savagely attacked by malignant nightmares, ones that rip and gnaw at their mental foundations in a zealous attempt to cripple them. Their cheery mood suddenly went stale as they reflected on the past. Tali leaned over to Shepard and traced his lip with a slender finger. "_Coome _on, Shepard. I eagerly want to meet your grandparents."

"Yeah, right. That is the reason we are here, no?"

Grinning, Tali pushed open the cherry door and shut it, taking a particular interest in the heavy sound of metal on metal. Shivers played hopscotch up her spine as a reaction to the alluring sound. Tali looked at Shepard, wondering what he would think about her liking to the sound of heavy items hitting each other in harmony. Her mind was racing with stupid thoughts, nervous about the upcoming several minutes. The grass was well kempt, lacquered with a rain shower they barely missed upon arrival. The house had the same kind of architecture as the city not far from them; actually, Tali could see it in the distance behind the house, which was breathtaking. As for size, the house wasn't all that big, but its presence was like a krogan standing in a horde of volus. The walls were sculpted from a chalky stone, but they were slanted at angles like the jaws of an aerodynamic machine. Panes of glass filled open gaps of the yawning walls and Tali spotted the front door of the house, like a bellybutton settled inside of a taught and chiseled stomach.

"Shepard, what do I say," she whispered, blindly groping for Shepard's arm.

"Just be yourself, Tali."

Gulping audibly, she whispered, "Okay." They walked to the front yard and onto a slate flagstone path that snaked its way to the front door the residence.

"Shepard, whose side of the family is this," Tali almost yelled, forgetting she lacked that piece of vital intelligence.

"My mother's."

"Okay."

Both of their footsteps clattered against the slate and echoed off the circular door. Tali's heart was pounding against its ivory cage, wishing to be released. This was a big step in the relationship, at least in Tali's eyes. The first day she met Shepard in that back alley, the last thing going through her mind was meeting his grandparents. Never did she think her arm was going to be weaved through his, waiting to meet a part of his past not many get the opportunity to traverse. Suddenly, Shepard's heavy hand rapped against the door, ignoring the doorbell to the left. This was it, the moment she was dreading…no, anticipating. There was a silence, except for her heart playing its own steady tune. A bead of sweat rolled down her face and she went to her toes, hopping nervously in place, and glancing around, making sure his grandparents weren't in a bush spying on them from a distance. Oh, what a stupid thought! Then Tali heard it.

Footsteps.

Soft thuds emanating from inside the house.

She picked up on one set.

Short and quick shuffles.

They were getting closer.

Very close now!

Tali made a _squeeee _noise unintentionally as a hand grabbed the handle on the other side, making the door lurch open.

"Oh my Love! Wha-what are you doing here!"

Trying to clear the negative lightning bugs from her vision, Tali made out a lanky and downright beautiful woman with a hand clenched tight to her chest and eyes wide. Perfume wafted through the door from the woman and Tali just stared at her with a blank look on her face. The woman's hair was beginning to change black to silver near her ears; her eyes were like blue pieces of electrified candy pushed into rolled out powdered dough and she wore a shirt with a picture of a big boat on it.

"Grama…surprise," Shepard smoothly said with a crooked grin and hugged her. Grama's eyes went blank and she spared no time in giving him a hug in return.

"You should have wrote or called me, Love!"

He leaned away from her and said, "I would have, but it is safest if I came on Terra Nova without any attention."

"You caught me at a disadvantage! Look at what I am wearing, one of Grapa's old t-shirts!" Grama's wild gaze steered away from Shepard and her eyes went even wider upon settling on Tali. Quickly, to save Grama, Tali pushed both hands behind her back, held them together and went to both toes, swaying dangerously.

"Oh Shepard, she is a beauty," Grama said with a grin spreading wide and in a tone of voice that made Shepard's face ignite.

"Hi."

_What a shtuuupid thing to say!_

"Come here, darling." The woman strutted towards Tali and gave her one of the warmest hugs of her life. Instantly, Tali felt at home for some reason, like this is where she belonged. Grama's hug was tight and sincere, filled with unadulterated love towards her. Tali instinctively hugged back, like they have embraced many, many times before. "Shepard has told me a lot about you, Tali."

Both let go.

"Really?"

"Yes, really! The pictures I have gotten do nothing, though."

Tali blushed fiercely as she has not been complimented on her appearance many times in life.

"Oh, come inside both of you. Come, come!" All of them stepped inside of the foyer, which was a welcoming sight. As Grama shut the door behind them, Tali stole the opportunity to look around. She could tell immediately they were still old-fashioned in a way, the first hint going out to the actual paintings on the wall instead of holographic ones. Skylights let tons of fresh, natural light pour into the open foyer. The same kind of material making up the walls outside were on the floor, but polished and the many windows made the house not at all claustrophobic.

"Shepard, take off your shoes, please."

"Oh, yes of course," he chuckled. "Tali…"

"Yes?"

"Oh darling hold on a second." Grama walked away from them and disappeared into a hallway.

Whispering, Tali asked, "Where did she go?"

"She has a phobia of germs, so probably getting you something to put over your feet." Tali peered at her two funny looking appendages.

"Well that makes two of us, then."

"I am _so _sorry darling. If my Love hasn't told you, I just hate germs and stuff." Grama cringed and handed Tali two socks.

"Thank you, Mrs…"

"Darling, we are all family, call me Grandma, please."

Talking the socks, Tali replied, "Okay, Grandma."

"Come on, Grama, you could have gotten her something more appropriate to wear."

Grandma shot a sharp look at Shepard.

"No, Grandma, these are perfect," Tali snapped back, slipping them over her feet.

"I know they are, Tali," she said with a sugar-filled grin. "They should fit you."

Biting her lower lip, Tali grabbed Shepard's hand as a crutch and put them over her suited feet. She pulled them up to her knees and snapped the elastic band against her shin.

"Perfect," Tali giggled. Testing them, Tali uncurled and curled her toes in the white fabric and let go of Shepard as a stabilization platform.

"Well then," Grandma started, placing two fists on her hips, "I have never met a quarian personally before. If I was warned, Tali, I would have worn something presentable my dear."

"Oh, no Grandma, you look fine!"

"What a sweetheart. My Love, you are so lucky."

"I know I am, Grama," Shepard whispered, sliding his fingers in with Tali's three. Tali looked to the floor, grinning like the biggest damn winner in the galaxy. "Where is Grapa?"

"He is out in the backyard smoking his pipe." Tali saw a longing look in Shepard's face. No, those wrinkles were not of longing, but creases of sadness. Grandma spotted it too and she grabbed Tali's hand.

"Let me take Tali for a tour of the house while you get Grapa, okay Love?"

He took a second to respond, "Okay."

"Come come Tali." Tali jokingly waved goodbye to Shepard as she was dragged off with Grandma. "Let's get some girl time in Tali, shall we?" The only girl time Tali got was with Kasumi and occasionally with Kelly. She really liked it…although they sometimes talked about—oh Keelah, this might be a trap of Grandma's to talk about the dreaded topic of romance and possibly…

Tali physically recoiled and a three letter word popped into her head.

_Sex. _

_**and so it continues...  
>I have no editor on these, so please do your best to block out the mistakes ;)<br>Comments and thoughts of this cheesy entry would be entertaining!  
>Also, I figured I should make these entries shorter than <strong>__**Deception's**__**, therefore these are short and sweet!  
>-RAGE<strong>_


	3. Chapter 3

Tali's hand coiled into a fist as Grandma pulled on her hooked arm, leading her away from the light crusted foyer to a dark and foreboding room to the right, through an L-shaped hallway. Anything could happen back in this room. Words could be spilt that would bring Tali to her knees in embarrassment. Or Grandma could let loose a facial gesture after a question, hinting to something only Tali would want to keep caged up all to herself. Grandma's blue eyes shimmered with intelligence and zest she has only seen in few people who had all the answers compressed into their bulging brain. Her eyes were not from an old woman, but rather an intuitive detective, a comprehensive savant, someone fresh from intense schooling and are eager to put their copious amount of knowledge to the test and excel. Even as a child, Tali has always been to herself. She was able to entertain herself for weeks at a time and even today, she can still do so, although she would rather interact with people since her childhood felt empty, even lonely at times. A nightlight blinked to life as Grandma opened a door, to which fresh light spilled into the dark hallway, like Mother Nature was tossing her a life vest to stay afloat in the turbulent water bound to be ahead.

_Just play it cool. Think before you say anything and keep still! _

As both entered the room, Tali sopped up the surroundings, coming to a conclusion that-

"Tali my dear, I am so glad you came to visit us. I have been waiting to meet you ever since Shepard mentioned you a couple years ago."

Putting a fist over her chest, she asked, "He said something about me back then?"

"Yes!"

Grandma paced over to a piano, the mahogany lid holding dozens of pictures. Peering around the room, it looked like a space just for the piano and photographs of Shepard's family. Having an attraction towards music, Tali has listened to piano as she has always taken an interest in human culture. She knew what it was immediately.

"He said one day, he will bring the crew by to say hello, and I remember him talking about a quarian named Tali'Zorah." Grandma's eyes shimmered like a goby fish. Feeling a deep rumble of satisfaction burble within her stomach, Tali's finger traced a line along the fine wood grain and stared out the window towards their backyard. Her eyes went wide upon noticing Shepard back there, hugging another man with a full head of salt and pepper hair. It had to be his grandpa.

"They love each other so much, my dear. They were best friends when your Captain was a child." Tali's heart pounded softly, remembering her grandparents back when she was a child. It was too hard on her, so she derailed her train of thought to think of something worth thinking of. "You will get to meet him later, he is a sweetheart." Grandma sensed there was agitation in Tali's stance and changed the subject. "Take a look at these pictures." Tali felt right at home with this woman she met only moments ago. "Does this one look familiar?"

"Oh," Tali chirped and lightly tapped the back of the frame, pushing the picture forward a little bit. "This one does look quite familiar," she softly purred. It was taken right after the soccer game on Diamond Cove a few months back. Both chuckled at the picture upon seeing Garrus giving Jacob bunny ears with his two long fingers as they all posed before the camera man, which had to be Joker. Gianna was purposely cross-eyed, Thane was actually smiling, Jacob had his eyes closed, probably not on purpose, Gabby was pinching Donnelley's cheek, and Tali and Shepard were leaning into each other. Tali noticed in the picture Shepard's hand was clasped onto her backside.

_I, Keelah, I didn't even notice that bosh'tet doing that!_

"What happened to his face, my dear?" Grandma's slender finger floated towards Jacob's swollen face.

"Oh, well I kicked the _boll_ at his head on accident. I scored a bunch of goals that day and it was my first time playing _soccor_."

"You must be quite the athlete then."

Modestly, Tali looked at her feet and whispered, "I kind of have an unfair advantage." Grandma looked at Tali's socked feet and thick thighs.

"I see."

"Surface area and such…"

"Yeah, that can make a difference."

"It is all in the science."

"And in the thighs…you know I used to be really good at that game in college."

Tali peered at Grandma's figure, noticing it was still cut and said, "It looks like you could still play."

"Oh, thank you my dear. You look fit; I bet you are better than most humans back on Earth."

"I doubt that." Tali hung her head bashfully. Grandma poked Tali's arm.

"That feels like all muscle to me."

Playfully, Tali curled her arm and her suit expanded slightly. Grandma laughed, putting her forehead into Tali's shoulder.

"Who is in this picture?" Tali picked up a small picture frame and one of the faces that stared back looked familiar.

"That is you Captain in the middle and those are his three friends that used to live around here."

"Oh Keelah, he is so cute! How old is he in here?"

"I want to say about eight. Back in the day, he used to get sick on Terra Nova because of some sort of allergic reaction to pollen that used to be here until they scrubbed the air. We had to make some modifications to the house when he visited; even my husband was affected by it mildly."

Shepard stared back at Tali from the frame, grinning wide and happy to be with his friends. He was taller than the rest and all of them looked like they were growing out their hair for the summer before going back to their military academy. He just looked like a good old boy who played sports in the dirt and lived a normal life.

"My dear, I should get dressed. We hope you will stay for dinner and are not just poking in."

"Oh, well…Shepard is the one with the plans, so…"

"Well I hope you two can stay for the night, our home is your home."

"I don't really…know what the plan is to be honest."

"Ah, well I should get dressed properly. My outfit is utterly embarrassing. Come with me darling." Grandma's hand snapped to Tali's wrist and bit down on them like handcuffs. "Tali?"

"Yes?"

"I take it quarians are not too into fashion."

"Actually, there are a couple famous quarian designers and they make really nice stuff, but I am not too into it. I like shotguns and engines more than I do fashion. But yes, to some quarians, especially the ones that do not live on the Flotilla, the models and such, clothes are very important to them."

"You know what? I have actually seen quarian models in some magazines I read."

"They are highly respected off the Flotilla I believe," Tali said.

"Quarians, for some reason, have a knack for designing clothing and modeling in them. I will admit, your race have beautiful proportions I only wish I could have."

"Grandma, you do have nice proportions, honestly."

"Oh thank you, darling."

Tali didn't want to admit that clothes did interest her, but she felt a hot sense of jealousy towards them. Besides, she liked her quarian made cloths better than anything else, well because her grandparents gave her these cloths. A fist clasped onto her throat thinking about family and more importantly, her grandparents. Depression was washed over by a seething rage thinking about; black torrents of hate that she relished on the battlefield surged through her. These made her grip on the shotgun firm, like her hand was chiseled from a slab of marble and senses acute, able to punch though anything like a molten jet of copper. Tali seized these memories and boiling thoughts, tied them up and stuffed them into a cell, only to be accessed when she is forced into a gladiatorial match; then she could unleash the beast that swells inside.

Grandma cautiously whispered to Tali, "If you take off your suit…what happens?"

"It all depends on where I take it off. A clean room is fine to be exposed in, although my immune system has been strengthening. With Mordin, the Normandy's salarian doctor, I can be exposed in an unclean environment for a short amount of time with his cocktail of medicines he gives me."

"Modrin, I have wanted to meet him. Your Captain has talked about him a lot."

Tali nodded, "Yes, I am very grateful for him. He is a good doctor and a best friend." Nostalgically, she continued, "He gave me the chance to be with Shepa…"

Tali almost spilled what she wanted to keep in the dark from Shepard's grandmother.

_Damn it Tali!_

Her cheeks raged with an internal fire and she suddenly found herself short of breath. Ebony waves lapped into her vision, constricting the dark hallway into a claustrophobic crucible, crusted with popping stars and tendrils of lightning.

"What, honey?"

"I…" She batted her eyelashes at Grandma, stunned in a childish stupor.

"Are you okay?"

Tali gripped Grandma's shoulder, fighting the orgy of black snakes squeezing the blood flow to her brain.

"Yes, I am fine I just thought you were talking about…I mean, I thought I was about to say something, no, well you see, I get um, excited when talking about quarian physiology to people who are not quarians, if you understand what I am saying which you probably don't because I babble and talk really fast when I get nervous because I don't know if you will understand us…"

"Tali, take a breath, my darling!"

"I can't when I get nervous, you see?" Grandma dodged one of her hands which went accelerating towards her face. "Oh Keelah, I am so so _so _sorry!"

"Darling, I am not going to intrude on the intimacies of your relationship."

"Wha?"

Tali physically recoiled at what Grandma just spouted from her pursed lips. Eyes sparkling with understanding and infinite knowledge, Tali quickly and delicately reared her eyes away from Grandma's. Shepard's grandma knew. Grandma lightly took Tali's hand and patted the top of it affectionately, as if attempting to keep the internal energy of the quarian at bay, but she was probably containing her arms from lashing out again.

"Ah, forget about it, honey." Grandma winked at her. "Come on, we have girl things to worry about." Tali followed Grandma like a leashed dog across the house.

_Come on now, she is a grandma, they always know everything. The moment has passed, now moved on and enjoy the day. After today, I don't think there will be much to enjoy until the war ends._

Tali wasn't sure if Shepard told Grandma about the Reapers, about how close they actually are to the Milky Way. Maybe this is why Shepard brought them here, to personally warn them about the harvest that will soon ensue. Or they could just be making the last bit of shore leave count and equipping the Normandy before heading off to the trial on Earth. She lingered over the thought, staring at Grandma who was elegantly striding through the house towards where ever she was taking Tali. Is Tali going to see this part of Shepard's family ever again after today, or are they going to be incinerated, turned to ash be the Reapers who have a personal vendetta after Shepard. Will the Reapers purposely come to Terra Nova to snip the ever growing branch of the Shepard legacy? What will the Reapers do to them? Morph them into a writhing mass of dead flesh called Husks or vaporize them and let their carbonized, flakey bodies blow into the wind like leaves scattering over an autumn lawn? An epic war was brewing and the enemies will pursue Shepard, his family, and friends with an ebullient zeal. The Reapers are two-kilometer long bloodhounds who will not stop until the prey has been put to an abiding arrest. Shepard and his family will be walking around the battlefield with a red flag on their back. This family she is with are the most wanted living organisms in the galaxy with millions, if not billions of god-like machines soon the be cleaving their way towards them with one obsessive goal in mind: complete and utter annihilation. Tears brimmed on the subtle edges of Tali's soft eyelids, staring a woman she has just met, scared for her. Life is a beautiful thing, but is also as fragile as a thinly spun ornament. Why she was dwelling on such things baffled her. Tali'Zorah is a strong woman. Don't inhabit fear's domain. Enjoy what she has.

"Grandma?"

"Yes, darling?"

"I must admit, I am not too keen on fashion and clothes."

"Well then, you can always use another talent, can you?"

"Well, I suppose so."

Grandma persistently jerked on Tali's arm and said, "Come, dear." Following her up a flight of stairs and down yet another hallway, which was scaled in windows overlooking the backyard, they entered a large room, presumably the master bedroom. A huge bed sat sentinel in the center of the room and Tali could smell the cologne and perfume of Grandma and Grandpa swirling in the room, a smell of Shepard's childhood most likely. "This is what I call my shrine, Tali." Both walked into the bathroom, one that looked like it was designed by someone who has never heard of curves. It was an angled room; even the shower, sinks, and windows looking over the city in the distance were hardened, yet had the color of lace, which softened the room's chisled appearance. Grandma tore open a walk in closet door and even though Tali had no taste what-so-ever in human clothing, her breath was stolen. Clothes lined the walls and shoes fringed the wall of the walk-in closet. It might be because she _is_ a woman and she _is _spending time with the most feminine person she has ever met that Tali, an engineer and avid shotgun enthusiast, suddenly fell in love with the hundreds of female outfits.

"Keelah."

"What?"

"Oh, nothing."

Tali walked deeper into the closet, brushing her hands against the sleeves of shirts, collars of dresses, and ruffled ends of jeans.

"I could tell the first time I saw you, Tali, that you were a tomboy, but deep inside you were a girly girl."

"You guessed right, Grandma."

"I am usually right," she chuckled and noticed the quarian in her closet was staring at a pair of high-heels.

"I see Miranda, one of my crew, wear these sometimes. They don't look too comfortable."

"Do you want to try them on?"

"I, oh, well sure. I mean, not really."

"Go on, this is going to be your only chance, sweetheart."

Without taking her eyes off Grandma, Tali bent over to pick up the funny looking shoes. She observed the pointy end of the shoe, imagining digging the sharp heel into the back of an enemy's skull. But never mind that weird thought, using shoes as a weapon was outrageous idea.

"My feet are too big, Keelah, this is embarrassing."

"No no Tali, these were meant to fit a human's foot. We are freaks anyways, three toes is better than five anyways, my dear." Tali's two big toes curled into a ball, content. "Anyways, I should get changed and prepped for dinner. Are there any clothes you would like from here?"

"Oh, never, Grandma. I don't want to steal from you."

"It would be insulting if you didn't accept anything."

Grandma's eyes glinted, like a polished sword ready to strike its opponent.

"I guess so. I just feel bad, you know?"

Voice hushed, Grandma sweetly hissed, "You are my granddaughter in law; I want to give you clothes. That is what humans do when we love someone; give them stuff. Now here, take some of these and just shut up, honey."

"Yes ma'am," Tali snapped. "It is just with quarian culture, giving gifts is a luxury and doesn't happen very often."

As Grandma stuffed some clothes into Tali's chest, Grandma said, "Just don't argue you selfless little darling. Now, when I come out, I expect some compliments on how I look." Grandma winked and Tali retreated out of the closet. Over the last couple of months, Tali has received more gifts than she has been given over her entire life.

"Granddaughter," he whispered to herself and hugged the clothes, able to smell the soft vapors of laundry detergent through the mask.

"Is he going to ask your hand, Tali?" Grandma asked through the closet door.

Eyebrows knitting together, Tali responded, "Pardon?"

"You know honey, when are you going to get married?"

Beads of sweat accumulated on her brow and upper lips at the question. She tried to spit back an answer, but her body, as tight as a knot, didn't allow it. Shepard's Grandma asked the _most _courageous questions and charged strait into the toughest questions a grandmother-in-law could ask. Now, Tali could see where Shepard inherited the gene of impeccable speech, able to talk himself out of or into anything. Finally, the lightning bugs flashing by her eyes evaporated and her body was once hers again, but like usual, her mouth spattered something her brain didn't approve.

"Uh, I hope so."

_You could have said something better than that! _

"I mean," Tali continued.

"When am I getting grandchildren?"

"What!"

"I am only teasing, honey."

Tali used the sink as a crutch as that last question hit her in the chest. Grandma was chuckling in the closet and ruffling around.

"This is tough girl time," Tali purred to herself. Grandma had the spunk of a twenty-year-old and asked the questions of a curious six-year-old. She can't imagine what Grandpa will be like. Grandma made her way out of the closet wearing a black dress with a white stripe in it, accenting her graying hair.

"So?"

Grandma twirled and Tali soaked in the casual, yet elegant short dress.

"You look really young for a grandma."

_I think human women like that kind of compliment._

"Thank you darling. You have to love modern medicine and nutrition. Did you look at the clothes I gave you?"

"No, not yet; I will later though. I appreciate the gift, erm, gifts."

"Come on now, you should meet Grandpa."

Tai nervously gulped, hoping the worst was over.

"Don't worry, my dear, he isn't as rough as me," she said with a wink.

_Keelah, I hope so._

**Sorry this took so long to get out. I have been busy and have not felt compelled to write a third chapter for some reason. I am not too satisfied with this one, but here y'all go anyways. I have no editor on these, so try to ignore the mistakes ;)**

**More are on the way.**


	4. Chapter 4

Terra Nova's sun dipped lower into the sky, sending an all consuming tidal wave of ambrosial light surging over the land and painting the white buildings in the distance with honey. The lake in backyard of Grandma and Grandpa's place looked like molten bronze. The waves gently lapping against the sandy shoreline looked as if the water was trying to rise up and sculpt itself into an abstract model. Tali could hear two voices, both male, one Shepard's and one much older and slower than Shepard's. It could be only one person: his Grandpa. Tali nervously gripped the clear acrylic railing of the stairs as both Grandma and her quietly descended to the bottom floor of the house. Combat hasn't _remotely_ come close to the level anxiety like this. She would rather parachute into a battalion of geth wielding only a wooden stick than meet someone who could scrutinize her, tear herself esteem apart, and possibly poke fun at her goofy looking legs, as Joker tried to do a while back until she almost punched him in the face. That was three years ago though. She would have killed the Normandy's pilot if she did such a thing. Her temper back then was cherry red, hot like a furnace, boiling like a cauldron of fluxed titanium. Poor Joker, trying use his sense of humor to make friends with the weird quarian on board by insulting her funny bent legs. Well, maybe it wasn't an insult after all. Maybe it was the human way of verbal communication to make friends.

Humans.

She chuckled.

Such a perplexing species.

Keelah, her mind was racing again.

Tali jettisoned these ridiculous thoughts as her foot kissed the floor. The sudden, ruthless realization of meeting Shepard's grandfather, a figure in the Captain's life which held great importance, tied a slipknot in her gut. Tali thought of her own grandparents, well her father's ones anyways. They left the most impact on her life, although those memories were not gleeful and cheery, but scars carved into her childhood. Her mother's side died early and Tali's memory didn't yield too many mental pictures of them, or of their voices. Her early life was tough as hell, but she stood strong throughout those vulnerable and persuasive times. Now though, her life, at this very moment, was beyond anything she could have conceived as a child while playing with her favorite spaceship toys and staring out the porthole window into the enormity of space. It saddened her thinking about those few, precious toys. They were buried or burnt up on the planet the SR-1 crashed on. Those were one of the few personal items she brought with her on her legendary Pilgrimage. They were the only items that acted as a tether to her home, the Flotilla, quietly floating in space light-years away from wherever they were in space while hunting down Saren. At night, when the quiet kept her from falling into sleep's enticing embrace, she would bring them out of her satchel and cradle them close to her chest. They soothed her, calmed her, like a chilled cloth over a fevered brow. They reminded her of her mother and father. They are all gone now. Shepard, his family, and the SR-2 crew is her family now. There was no way she was going to lose any damn one of them in the upcoming war.

The male voices.

They grew louder.

"Don't be nervous, Tali. My husband is a nice guy," Grandma whispered, anxiously tucking her head into her dainty shoulders.

"I bet he is."

"You will get along fine."

"Yup."

"Loosen up, baby."

"Am I really _that_ tense?" Tali asked.

"Darling, you are crushing my hand."

"Keelah, I am sorry."

"Don't be."

"Quarians get-"

"Nervous when meeting new, important people," Grandma finished. "Just like humans."

"I mean, we are socially adept to meeting new people, but you guys are family, and I-"

"Want to make a good first impression," She finished Tali's sentence once more.

"I want him to like me."

_She is a damn psychic or something. _

"I know."

"Wh-what?" Tali sputtered.

_Did she read my mind?_

"I know you want to make a good impression, honey."

"Oh," she sighed, relieved.

From the kitchen, a deep voice boomed. It was hardy, full, and held as much timbre as a thick forest. Tali's hand unraveled from Grandma's as soon as Grandpa's voice swelled through the halls like a great flood.

"Is that my grand-daughter in law I hear?"

Tali nervously chocked a giggle that erupted from somewhere deep inside of her as she turned the corner into the open-aired kitchen.

"Grandpa?" she found herself asking before her brain gave permission to spout anything. Her brain, she thought, if it were a person, would be burying its face into both hands, embarrassed of the clumsy beast it was assigned to control. Give her a broken mechanical object, and the little person in her head could take a nap. Give her a social situation to deal with, and the little person _needs _hold her hand through the whole situation. Again, her mind walked off on her.

Before her, Shepard had both arms crossed, leaning on a clear countertop, his face smeared with a creased grin. Finally, Tali laid eyes on his Grandfather.

"Tali, my darling, how are you?" he boomed, both arms opening, like two colossal jetties waiting for a ship to sail right into the harbor. A smile detonated over Tali's face behind the veil, one that should be accompanied by metric-tons of confetti and the biggest fireworks in the whole freaking galaxy. The knotted python in her belly uncoiled and Tali, without thinking, launched herself into the man's flannel clothed chest. Grandpa discharged several mighty laughs. Tali could feel the intoxicating soft thumps bat lightly against her torso.

"That is my girl," Grandpa thundered. "I love huggers, especially bear huggers!" Tali was utterly surprised at the old man's sheer strength as he lifted her up and swung her around, both of them euphorically giggling. The quarian, blithe and vivacious, squealed like she did as a child when her feet left the floor from the human powered carousel. Out of the trillions of life forms in the galaxy, she _knew _at that very moment, no one could topple the joy she had. She knew her delight was burning brighter than a shit load of supernovas. Not even a goddamn Reaper couldn't tear out her revelry. All she wanted to do was let go of Grandpa, bolt outside, and scream up to the sky, towards the Reapers, a string of profanity that would make Jack flinch, maybe even shoot two middle fingers towards the great blue blanket that covered the planet.

Both Grandpa and Tali's frenzy slowed. Grandpa set her down, kissed her on the faceplate, and patted both of her shoulders. Tali swore she could feel the warmth from his bear-paws through the suit. They connected immediately.

"_Fwew_," Tali whirred, staring up into the man's face. Grandpa grinned, flashing his white teeth through his creased face. Although Tali knew they were older, a sparkle in his electric blue eyes zipped across the glassy surface. For a second, Tali thought she was staring into the face of a child. When he smiled, all the creases in his face tightened up, like the skin of a drum, and it just lightened up the whole room. His salt and pepper hair was thick and full, which complimented his square jaw and right-angle shoulders. She could tell the man was a soldier, he held himself like a prizefighter boxer, waiting to dodge any sort of attacks, but right now, the man knew he was in no ring, so he opened himself up to Tali.

"I have heard so much about you, Tali," Grandpa's raspy voice crackled. Tali's smile prevented her from speaking. It sealed her lips from spurting anything unannounced to Grandpa. All Tali could do was cock her head to one side and paw at an invisible wisp of hair dangling in front of her face.

"Clem, I hope you didn't do anything to the poor girl," Grandpa rumbled, putting both hands on his knees in order to get to face level to Tali. His baby eyes stared into her smoked veil.

"I played nice to the poor girl," Grandma hissed back, shooing away an phantom hand.

"I know how you tease rough."

"No teasing was involved."

"Do you swear?"

"I swear. Just some girl-talk."

Grandpa sighed, moving a great hand down his face. "Clem, I know how your girl talk goes." His eyes switched back to the barley contained quarian bouncing on her toes in the center of his kitchen. "I am so sorry she interrogated you."

"It wasn't an interrogation. I have yet to hook Tali up to my lie machine. We will do that later. It is early in the evening," she joked.

"Good, dinner first, then interrogations. You have come to the only place in the galaxy that serves interrogations after ice-cream, my poor girl."

"Welcome to the Shepard household, Tali," the Captain said in the background. "Imagine growing up around them when you were a teenager." He stared into space, reeling back those repressed memories.

"So, I heard about your taboo tendencies, Tali."

"Wha," Tali whispered.

"I hid all the wire-hangers and knitting materials before she came over, Vinnie," Grandma said. "Locked up tight and swallowed the key."

"Taboo." Tali started, "I don't do...whatever that is!"

"Tali, there is your sweet voice," Grandpa chuckled. "I knew you were able to talk!"

"I can speak just fine. Just a bit winded, that is all."

Tali locked eyes with Shepard. She knew hers were shining brighter than any moon on a cloudless, dark night.

**I **_**needed **_**to get this out to you all, even though it was short. Momentum. Momentum is all I need and I think this chapter pushed me over that edge. I know there has to be mistakes in here, but with no editor, I try to do my best.**

**Enjoy.**

**Keelah Se'lai my friends. **


	5. Chapter 5

**A Gentle Breeze before the Storm Part V**

Tali gazed out at the backyard of Shepard's grandparent's house, still reeling with excitement and tenaciously gripping the railing of the back porch. Staccato chirps of birds didn't help soothe her trembling hands, rather she bounced to the fast paced squeals of the feathered aliens. They sung to the ever dipping sun who began to hide himself behind the legion of trees out in the distance, like a bronzed king retreating behind his black armor-clad men molded into an impenetrable phalanx. Tali felt no hostility towards the thick woods in the distance. They were a family, grew up together, shared memories, fought through times of hard, and have risen through the once harsh, arid landscape of this seraphic planet. They stood as one and fought against a much larger force.

"You survived."

Tali looked to her left and found Shepard leaning against the porch railing.

"Hardly."

"Hardly how?"

"Like Grandpa said, 'interrogations'."

"Oh," Shepard sighed.

"I can handle myself. I am a big girl."

Tali elbowed him.

"She was in the military, you know."

"Who, Grandma?"

"Intelligence."

"Like... interrogator, intelligence?"

"I am not too sure, to tell you the truth. She preferred to keep those memories to herself. Never has she spoke about her military career. I remember when I was a kid here, she would sometimes not get up from bed and Grandpa always said, 'She had one of her nightmares.' I now know what she had to endure during those nights. What she had to traverse. Those... steps she was _forced_ to retrace."

Tali's hand slipped onto Shepard's, feeling his pain, but not fully understanding it. She knew it must've been _tearing _at his heart. The decisions he made weighed on his shoulders. The nightmares flogged him relentlessly with such brutal force, the subconscious torture showed in every new crease in his face. The man was beaten and should have given up long ago, yet Tali's love and support were two invisible hands at his back that pushed him through the agonizing, cold world that they exist in.

"Did your grandparents meet in the military?" asked Tali.

"Yes, they served on the same ship."

"Oh?"

"It is not the kind of ship you are thinking of, Tali. Anyways, what did she say to you?"

Biting her lower lip, Tali said, "Something about ch-children."

"No, she did?"

Scarlet blossomed in his cheeks.

"Does she know it is impossible?" Tali asked, timidly.

"Yes she does. She is brighter than you would think. She has a minor degree in xenobiology. She went back to school a year after we made first contact. I grew up around the curiosity of aliens." His hand glided through his hair. "Did she say or ask anything else outrageous?"

"She gave me some clothes for some reason. I am not too sure what I will use them for."

"Grandma's actions all have reason behind them."

"Her eyes though, they are..."

"Piercing," Shepard finished.

"Like a sharp knife. I swear I could feel her gaze scraping the back of my skull. _Scratch scratch scratch scratch_," Tali tickled the back of Shepard's head.

"She's as cute, though," he chuckled. "It is not impossible, Tali."

"What is not impossible?"

"Kids."

Shepard's words had _movement_ to them. _Acceleration_ and impact. Tali physically staggered from that single word. Her knees trembled and a wobbly smile shook to life over her slightly parted mouth.

"Wait...are you talking about, you know..."

"Adoption, yeah."

Stunned, Tali balled a fist and pressed it against her chest. A whimper of joy squeaked loose from her tightened throat. Tali thought of a family. A family of her _own. _The idea had never occurred to her, well, maybe once or twice, but she never lingered over the outrageous, _outlandish _idea. It was ludicrous!

Yet perfect...

In the distance, a bird of prey circled the sky, enjoying the crispness of the evening air. It was bucolic, made perfect as a gentle breeze slipped through the backyard, turning the silver underbellies of the emerald grass towards the sky. They trusted Mother Nature, opened their tender stomachs to the elements, trusting Her with their fragile lives. The sentinel trees groaned under Her hushed yet stern breath, yielding to Her whispers and secrets Tali wished to decipher. Tali listened to the trees, thinking about how that forest is a family, a united entity, each embracing the existence of one another and _living _in tandem with Nature; how each tree had their hardships, but rolled with the punches, each having a goal in life. She thought if the dark ridge of trees could think then maybe they could even see her standing on the porch. Maybe they were conversing to each other through groans and rustling leaves. The bird of prey circled faster, tracing a crown in his sky.

"Shepard, that sounds like a plan."

The raptor's sleek bullet head locked onto something in the field.

"Kids," Shepard chuckled.

"I never really gave thought to them before, Shepard," Tali admitted.

"Same here." He sighed. "There is a reason, you know, for not thinking about them."

Tali grabbed Shepard's arm and looked him in the eyes. Happiness melted from his icy gaze. "Tali, we have to fight a war first and we have to _win _it."

The killer that once glided in the air _knifed _towards the ground and landed with a soft thud. His wings formed a rigid cowl around his slippery body and his prey's brittle voice snapped in pain.

"Shepard." Tali grasped his head with ferocity. Shepard's eyes failed to lift to meet hers in combat. "We will get through this." Her voice was soft, subtly weaved with desperation, but harsh enough to sandblast paint off a cruiser's armored hull. "We _always_ do and_ always_ will."

The raptor's legs extended, wrestling with his prey, desperately holding on. The rodent did not surrender even though its pursuer was mightier, stronger, and had an advantage and authority in the ways of Mother Nature. Tali watched the bird _thrash_ and _push _his prey into the fertile soil, where no doubt its ancestor's remains lay when they too were killed by this sovereign force, these feathered Gestapo that dominate the sky but are sheltered by the forest's warm embrace.

"It is ironic how the universe works. It is a cold and calculated machine." Shepard smirked hollowly. "It is run by numbers, statistics, by... symbols and set formulas written on paper."

"Yeah, but these formulas and numbers can be altered by _us, _Shepard. We are the universe's erasers. Sometimes it takes change to get things right. You know, iron out the kinks."

He sighed and said, "You're right." Both of them watched the raptor and field rodent fight in the grass. "It is weird how Mother Nature works."

"How do you mean?"

"The superior forces are given an advantage from the start. Unfair evolutionary traits shortly follow."

"Survival of the fittest, as you humans would put it," said Tali.

"I always root for the underdog, though."

"The Normandy has a whole pack of them leashed in her hull."

"There is always that small chance that something deviant can break set laws."

"And the chance of overwhelming fear," said Tali.

"That is why I like the underdog. He or she never gets overwhelmed by fear. When the mind is heated by fear, it becomes malleable. It can be _hammered _into anything."

Tali released her grip on Shepard's face as a bucket of chilled water extinguished her fears of losing the forged, hard mindset of her Captain. She played with the lobe of his ear and drew a line over his lips.

A quarian kiss.

The bird of prey shrieked and fell backwards. Tali watched a brown blur dart away from the hunter - escaped its talon cage - to live and maybe, _maybe _fight another day. Both Shepard and Tali grinned with hands slipping naturally into each other's as a sugar coated voice wafted towards them.

"Tali, I heard you liked to cook," said Grandma, whose head peeked through a slit in the glass sliding door to the porch. Tali twirled around, smiling ferociously.

"I _love _cooking, Grandma."

"Here," Grandma held a wooden cooking spoon, clasping it like the Excalibur. "Take this and bring it to the stove. Grandpa will teach you how to make Commander Shepard's favorite childhood dish. It is time you get some more back-story to your sweetheart."

"Sounds interesting," said Tali.

"Only if you give us some back-story to you, my darling."

"My back story isn't as interesting as Shepard's is, I can guarantee you that. I lived in a little room my whole life."

"Prisoners have some magnificent stories to tell, so should you."

"Well, okay." Tali licked her lips. "As long as I get some more on Shepard."

"Like his favorite childhood dish. I bet you can sell that to Al-Jilani for a billion credits and a free punch to the face."

Both Tali and Shepard reentered the ultra modern house. "Darling, I thought I taught you not to hit women," Grandma said to Shepard with a sour looking face.

"I'm sorry, but that interview was as unpleasant as getting a backrub from a krogan."

"Clem," shouted Grandpa from across the kitchen to Grandma. "You stood up and swung at the air when our grandson clocked her right in the kisser."

"Be quiet, Vin!"

"I tell the truth, I swear," Grandpa shouted as Grandma threw a napkin at him. Grandma's raspy laugh filled the kitchen.

"I hope that ugly bitch never gets laid," Grandma cackled evilly.

"Grandma!" Shepard shouted through a wide grin.

"Tali, get the dishwashing detergent and make her gargle it!"

"Make her gargle the what?" asked Tali to Grandpa.

"Jesus, guys," Shepard howled.

"Leave him out of this, Honey. He won't save your grandfather," said Grandma clasping onto a fork, ready to fling it into the side of Grandpa's skull.

"Tali, forgive my family," Shepard sighed.

"No, your family is more fun that I thought!"

"There is nothing to forgive, Tali. This is how we are. Humans are weird creatures with weird senses of humor," Grandma said. "Now, let's give Tali the nuclear launch codes and both keys that can spark the galactic humanization of Commander Shepard. Let's spill his tender secrets and non-heroic side." Grandma handed Tali the wooden spoon. "Time to launch the untouched vessel, his intercontinental ballistic missile tipped with atomic childish mannerisms of the Hero of the Citadel."

"I can't wait to figure out what this is..." Tali said.

"Macaroni and cheese, Tali, just macaroni and cheese," Grandpa said from the stove.

"Cheese and short noodle, right?" Tali asked, confirming her limited knowledge of starchy, delicious human food. "Finally, the secrets of the universe have been spilled to me. My Captain's cape of secrecy has been undraped from his shoulders," said Tali patting Shepard's broad shoulders.

_I think I am starting to get the hang of this family!_

"Help me set the table, Honey," Grandma aimed towards Shepard.

Tali hooked her elbow around Grandpa's plaid arm, following him to the stove, a now familiar place to her, a bastion of hope for things to come, or a beautiful piece of culture to be eliminated from the galaxy.

_I'll go with the first thought._

"Wh-what is that?"

"This, Tali, is macaroni and cheese."

Tali glared at the aluminum pot - into this cauldron - at a radioactively orange-yellow stew of kinds, perplexed, _breath taken _at what her eyes had laid upon.

"Take your spoon and stir it," Grandpa boomed.

"Is it going to leap out at me?" Tali quipped.

"No, darling, it won't. It might regurgitate butter and hot yummy molten powdered cheese onto your mask and try to impregnate you through the mouth with an egg sack, but it won't leap out at you."

"I will keep my mouth closed."

"It won't help with the radiation this bad boy gives off."

"This suit repels radiation," Tali stated.

"Well I won't be so lucky." Grandpa looked at his plaid shirt and khaki pants. "By dessert time, my skin will be peeling and by sunset, I should be growing a seven fingered hand out of the side of my skull."

Laughing, Tali said, "I'll make sure to put a felt glove on it so it won't claw out your eyes."

Grandpa extended his hand and said, "Deal."

"Deal."

Both shook hands.

Tali began stirring the yellow monster in the pot when grandpa said, "You know, I used to work around radioactive engines."

"You should see what is in the Normandy."

"That is your ship, right?"

"Well, not mine, it is Shepard's."

"Oh come on. Once I mention the word 'Normandy' you get on your tippy-toes."

Tali looked at her feet and noticed she was bouncing, ready to launch into the air and touch the nearest moon out of excitement.

"You are right, she is _my _baby. Pamper her like a child." Tali ran a hand over the countertop. "Smooth as silk."

"You'd feed her milk if you could," said Grandpa. "When a hole gets put into her, you _need _to fix her because your blood runs through her veins. Both you and her could bleed out. You two are a single entity."

Tali fixated her gaze into Grandpa's, who had clearly hit a solid, impenetrable wall of nostalgia.

"You were a captain of a ship once," stated Tali.

"Yes I was. After dinner, I am going to take you to her. She is _beautiful_."

"Sounds like a plan." Tali extended her hand for Grandpa to shake it. His large, matted hand slipped into hers and they shook. The lack of grandparents in her life made Shepard's a beacon of light in the dark empty place deep in her chest. These grandparents were genuine and loved Shepard. They meant no harm to her or the one she loved. Shepard and Grandma set the table while Tali stirred the gelatinous monster in the pot. Upon further observation, it was in times like these that she was happy she couldn't eat human food, for this could even frighten Keelah and all its godly relatives. Not even their supernatural powers could save her from this yellow deformed dish called "macaroni and cheese." A nice tube of sanitized vegetation would suit her fine as she would watch Shepard and his grandparents consume the alien life form that reminded her of something that she distinctly remembers a vorcha vomiting in a corner of Omega's backstreet. She chuckled, remembering some of it spattered on Zaeed's boots which sent him into a "bloody fit" and forced Shepard to delay a mission so he could get a sanitation wipe from a vendor to get it off because it reminded him of "chuffing cat sick," whatever that meant.

"So, this is Shepard's favorite food," Grandma said, serving her grandson a bowl full of it. Tali tingled on the inside when seeing his grandma serve him food. Shepard, the greatest hero the Milky Way has ever seen, was utterly humbled and let an old woman serve him his macaroni and nuclear waste.

"Now I wouldn't say that, Grandma."

"Ah yes, you probably had some great cuisine on your adventures in space."

"Mainly street food and Gardner's cooking. His ramen is quite good once I got him proper ingredients."

"The asari know how to cook, I bet," Grandpa said. Tali sucked on her nutrient paste happily listening to Shepard's family. It is the everyday talk that intrigues her the most.

"Think about it," Shepard said with his mouth full, which Grandma blew him a poison dart look. "The asari live what, up to and over 1000 years, so they have time to _perfect_ food. Look at the Chinese back on Earth. They had _thousands _of years to perfect their food and one would live about seventy years. The asari are so ahead of us. Where we came from, well, where you guys came from," Shepard pointed his fork to Grandma and Grandpa, "You lived in Seattle at the beginning of your lives. Great food city, don't get me wrong, but we had about 300 years to get our cuisine down. That is a college student in asari terms, basically."

"You have a point," said Grandpa.

Shepard squirted something called "ketchup" onto his macaroni and chuffing cat sick, stirred it and made it pink.

"Enough about you, Darling, I want to hear more about your girl."

"Mehf?" Tali asked, mouth full.

"Yes."

Tali looked away from Shepard's eyes. They oozed pity, something she _hates. _

"I am nothing really special."

"Tali is one of the most prodigious quarian in the fleet. Her father is... I mean, _was _an admiral," Shepard said with pride but tapered the sentence off with a humble whisper.

"Oh," both grandparents whispered.

"Shepard was with me when we found my father's body." She looked Shepard right in the eyes.

"He was always there with me."

"What of your mother," asked Grandma.

"She died when I was a teenager," Tali said. Ebony waves lapped at the edges of her vision, thinking of that day when her father told her she was gone _forever. _With a combination of unfortunate events, that was one of the worst, if not the worst day of her life.

"What of your grandparents, Tali?" asked Grandma, who now held Tali's hands.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"I don't think I have ever heard you mention your grandparents, Tali," said Shepard.

"There is nothing to mention of them. I've never talked about their... about them to anyone."

"Tali," Grandma shook her hands endearingly. "We_ love_ you, therefore, you can share anything with us."

"I don't... think so. The mood is nice right now and I do not wish to spoil it with a rotten story."

"I was an interrogator for the intelligence in the Navy back on Earth, Tali. I was a spy before the System Alliance was formed and with these very hands, I _tortured _people for answers. I am not proud of what I have done, but it is part of who I am today and my actions were the chisels that carved me into the person I am today."

Tali's hands did not rip away from Grandma's, but she clasped onto them like a child to its mother's leg. Keelah, she never felt so intimate with another person at that very moment, except with Shepard. Those eyes that once hit her like a lance of ice glowed like lavender catching the morning sun. Maybe it was for the better to get this off her chest once and for all. She may be dead tomorrow, maybe in an hour from the Reapers. She wants to live on in the memories and souls of others after death. Caging this memory in her skull - capturing it behind teeth - was not the best action. Tali's eyes flicked to Shepard's, whose were expressing concern.

_"Tali, you can share anything with me and I feel comfortable sharing anything with you. We are beyond close now. Secrets should not exist between us, they just push us apart."_

Shepard's words from Diamond Cove resonated in her head and her tongue started to flick before her brain could figure out what she was going to say. This tale had to be told for this was the primary carving tool that shaped _her _into the hardened woman she is today. Tali hoped the Shepard family was prepared for this tale, for it was _not_ going to be a happy one.

_I hope they are ready. Keelah, I hope..._

** I want to thank Bill, a.k.a VandalX187 for helping me with minor editing. Your fresh eyes are very nice to borrow and I look forward to seizing them again, which will be soon. Thanks guys/gals for reading, you are all a pushing force, like Tali says "...[your] love and support were two invisible hands at [my] back..." Keelah Se'lai. More are on the way!**


	6. Chapter 6

Something hard impacted the back of Tal's helmeted skull as the teacher at the front of the classroom turned her back to finish an equation on the touch board. Tali winced, shocked at the interrupting blow and halted her diligent note taking using the screen built into her desk.

"Hey, suit wetter."

Tali dismissed the voice behind her, knowing the alpha male attention seeking popular babe magnet of the damned would be infuriated if she ignored him. All was going so well over the past 24 hours and now this jerk had to ruin her week.

_Ignore the bosh'tet. Nothing is more insulting to the powerful than not being recognized. _

"And so, we start on the subject of black holes, class. I know you lightly touched on them over past semesters, but we are going into more intimate details this week. I would take notes, class. The exam on this is 196 hours from now," said Professor Ahmi, both hands curled into fists and stuffed into the curves of her sides. Tali marked her agenda.

"How, exactly, is this going to help us on our pilgrimage, Ahmi," boomed Vect from the back, the one who no doubt tossed the bit of metal at Tali only moments ago.

"First off, address me as _Professor _Ahmi and secondly, it is vital to be familiar with the dangers of space. There are things out there that are far more terrifying than black holes, Vect."

"Like Admiral Zorah," Vect quipped.

Tali's fist tightened and she spun around. Vect can talk venom about her all he wants, but _no one _ talks bad about family. All twenty pairs of eyes in the classroom lifted from their electronic textbooks and the burdens of sleep, anxious to see if the wick that had been lit was finally going to detonate the gunpowder. Vect has been pestering Tali for the past two semesters and they all knew the Admiral's quiet, book smart daughter was going to lash out eventually. Then again, Tali was not known for her physical violence, but for the sheer amount of endurance she held against verbal abuse. Tali glared at him and through his anthracite veil, she could tell a devious grin snaked across his lips.

Tali stood up, grabbed a chair, and slammed it against his skull, shattering the stool into nothing but splinters. His mask cracked open and everyone saw the ugly pudgy face behind the gray curtains, in which green spittle oozed from his mouth, sending all of his female admirers screaming in disgust.

"That's enough, Vect!" shouted the professor, snapping Tali from her fantasy. "You are seventeen years old for Keelah's sake, don't make fun of your fellow classmate. As good as your grades are, you should be acting like an adult, not a simpleton!"

What infuriated Tali to the point where her mood could make anything in the vicinity of her combust was the fact that Vect's overall grade was barely trailing behind Tali's, and nipping at the heels of hers, none the less... and he didn't even study! He was incredibly smart and slippery, probably getting it from his mother, who was the martial artist who trained the Marines. Physically, he was immensely powerful, able to take on a fully trained Marine in hand-to-hand combat. All quarians are trained early on how to fight, but Vect took it beyond that. As with quarian martial arts, they are trained to fight geth. Taking on a machine made of alloy and pneumatic muscles, quarian martial arts are known throughout the galaxy to be the most lethal since it uses leverage over brute strength. A moderately sized quarian can level a turian on its ass in a second.

Vect's gray fabric covered arms folded together like two pythons crushing a stubborn rodent, and he leaned back into his chair, his arrogance making Tali want to wretch.

"Anyways," Professor Ahmi shot Vect a look that had recoil, "A black hole the size of your thumb has the mass of a planet. They are so dense, they can even bend light." Professor Ahmi turned her back to the class and what looked like a rivet whizzed past Tali's face and pinked off a student's back in front her named... Kal, something-or-other. Vect snickered, as did his followers and a popular girl dressed in a bright yellow suit named... Something'Not worth Recalling. The student in front of Tali budged from his deep sleep, peered around and passed back out, not caring about the metallic bug bite.

"Black holes are dangerous. They can appear at random. They can _steal _anything. They have no remorse and can take the lives of many with... the... flick... of... a... finger." Right as Professor Ahmi snapped, a bell chirped. Instantly, all the students erupted into chatter, talking about what to have for lunch and what social activities to do after classes were done with for the day.

"Make sure you read Chapter 12 about black holes and spaghettification when you get back," shouted the professor over the orchestra of teenage voices.

Tali has gotten to the point of not caring about what others thought of the admiral's little daughter. It was infantile behavior on Vect's part, along with his gang of vile followers, all of whom bathe in the enormous shadow of his ego. Tali seized her bag and stuffed her school material into the little purple school pack as Vect walked by, so she couldn't make eye contact with him. As she bent over for her bag, Vect made sure his school pack rammed her in the back of the skull as he passed. Tali's hood twisted in front of her face and glitter clogged her eyes from the savage blow.

"See you later suit wetter."

"Yeah, you won't see me coming next time, though," she spat, not even noticing she shot a threat at him.

"Yeah, sure. You're lacking courage, something you take after your dad. What a pathetic inherited trait." Vect grabbed the butt of Something'Not worth Recalling. "Tell your mom I said hello. She'd be _pleasured _to hear from me."

Tali's fist wrapped around a protractor that lay dormant in her bag. It had a pointed tip on the end.

_Think Tali'Zorah!_

"It takes more courage not to hit you in the face. Physical violence is more cowardice. The mind is more powerful than muscles and controlling it takes more effort than punching someone in the head all day," Tali spat, aiming her attack at his mother.

Laughing, Vect said, "Check this bitch out," and strolled out of the room with a hand clenched to Something'Not worth Recalling's behind. Tali knew she hit him with a left-right in the heart with that one, but she was a thermonuclear reactor in desperate need of coolant. Lunch should deal with that little problem. She stood from her desk huffing and puffing, but coolly followed her classmates out of the claustrophobic room. She turned around and looked at the hateful room. Its metal walls groaned under pressure.

Walking out of the classroom, she hooked a left which lead to the most open space in the Rayya, the Theater Room, everyone called it. One of the quarian's long lost arts was theater, but there were some that lived off the Migrant Fleet who were famous screenwriters, so the tradition isn't completely lost. It spanned about seventy-five meters long and was the same in width with chairs, tables, screens playing news from the extranet, all intermingled with music and laughter. Tali also guessed it was called the Theater Room because it gave everyone a false sense of reality, letting them escape the narrow corridors of the Rayya, like a play or a movie would do the same to an audience. A skylight spanned the ceiling and Tali could see a string of fighters streak by the glass on a training exercise in preparation for a real fight. A grumble in her tummy reminded her of the task at hand. In an alcove to the right was a set of vending machines and in her pocket rested a coin her mother gave Tali before going to work on another ship which had some ventilation problems.

_"Remember Tali, don't get any of those disgusting sweet dessert pastes, they rot your teeth faster than sulfuric acid. I am going to have to tear out your sweet tooth with some needle nose pliers if you do, babe." _

This week was going well for Tali. More than well, in fact. It was one of the best weeks of her life! Her pilgrimage was a few years away, her grades were superb, and her family was stable, even her dad was happy when he came home after unusually late nights. The only thorn in her side was Vect, and that was coated in an agonizing serum. That annoying big bosh'tet was getting on her nerves and she almost hurt him, almost _murdered _him. The protractor in her bag weighed as much as one of those black holes, in fact, it felt like a pulsar. It throbbed like Tali's heart and pushed fire through her veins. Vect could never dampen her mood as twenty-four hours ago, Tali got to spend some time with her mother in the clean room

_"You have my lips, baby, and your father's eyes."_

Her mother's voice still strolled through her head, leisurely teasing Tali with her kindness. The Zorah household was a perfect balance between bitter and sweet. Her father made her strong, yet her mother didn't make Tali a hopeless stern machine milled from steel, rather Tali was an alloy of sorts, mixed with hard and soft materials that shaped out to be perfectly balanced. Lights from the vending machine drew her closer to the sweet paste. Pinching the coin in her two fingers, she was about to push it into the maw of the machine.

"Tali."

A familiar voice projected from a corner of the vending machine room. Though Tali's mood and blood ran furiously hot from previously, winter touched her. Spinning around, her mask scrapped against Vect's barreled chest.

_Ignore him. Get your paste and walk out. _

"Ignoring me won't get you anywhere, Zorah."

Like wolves revealing themselves into moonlight from night's shawls, Vet's gang of three followers emerged from the shadows.

"If you want to make fun of me or say something, say it to my face," said Tali. "I just don't understand why you are harassing me."

The quarian in yellow came from behind Vect and wrapped her skinny arms around his thick neck, taunting Tali's sexuality. Tali winced, revolted.

"I'm so sorry for you, Vect." Tali pushed her coin in the machine, turning her back to Vect, but her shoulders hunkered together, ready for a blow. As her paste _clunked _from the fall_, _she jumped, thinking Vect hat hit her.

"My psychology professor said no matter how much you think you know a person, you truly do not know them. Inside of their consciousness, they have the ability to do something you would never think was possible."

"What are you trying to get at?"

"You're pathetic. You just don't understand, do you?"

"Understand what," she asked, facing him and re-shouldering her bag.

"You're the bully, not me."

"Oh yeah?" Tali cocked her leg. "How is that?"

"Your father, he moved my mother to a new ship, a less prodigious job a little bit ago. You must've told him about your 'relationship' with me, right?"

"No, I never..."

"Have the courage to say it, Tali."

"I don't have to s-"

"Stop lying, Tali."

"I. Am. Not. Lying, Vect."

"Your father is a bastard."

Tali fumed. "Shut up! What do you know of him except of what you see on the news? Nothing!"

Vect moved closer to Tali, intimidating her not with his usual non-threatening ego, but with legitimate hostility. Tali felt kinetic energy building up in this powerful classmate of hers. She had no doubt in her mind that Vect could kill her. Vect was an average bully, though. He is too much of a coward to hit a girl or show violence towards Tali, one of the more well known quarians on the fleet. All bullies are weak, they use their strong forms as an avatar of power. In reality, they hold no power except intimidation to those who let it in.

"Guys, leave Tali and I alone for a minute."

Vect's predators looked at each other, sensing a serious tone weaved in his deep voice.

"Vect, what is going on here?" asked Tali.

Vect's gang left them alone.

"Your dad is having an affair with my mother."

Pinpoints of light pricked her eyes and an onyx snake crushed Tali's field of view.

"You bosh'tet. How dare you say that." Tali's tone of voice made Vect wince.

"Last night, my dad found out. He held a gun to my mom's head. He _almost _killed her. Plugged her skull with a bullet. Do you know how it feels to _watch _something like that? Your dad has ruined my family and my life. I always hated you, but now..." Vect's hand wrapped around Tali's neck. She didn't move. "I _want _to kill you._ I_ _want to make you miserable._"

Tali pushed his hand away from her neck, too pissed to say a word to Vect or to anyone else. Her cheeks blossomed with a rose made of cherry-hot metal.

Tali spun around and yelled, "How dare you make such an arrogant insinuation towards my father. He is a good and honorable man, father and _husband._ How dare you, Vect."

"Tali, I just gave you the final piece of the puzzle, a puzzle you have been missing a piece to for a long while. You _know _I am right. You _feel_ it in your bones."

Every word coming out of Vect's mouth was right. It _all _made sense. The "late" nights on active duty. The movement of Vect's mother to another ship. Tali's father has been acting so nice because he felt guilty and needed to show tender kindness to fill his hollow shell. Tali threw her tube of paste to the ground and it spattered beige paste on the floor and walked away.

"Tali!" screamed Vect. His hand wrapped around her wrist. "Your dad will pay for this. I will _kill _him!"

She had enough. Had enough of this whole situation. Had enough of Vect. She spun around and flung a fist right into his throat as hard as she possibly could. It _was _a savage blow, hard enough to collapse his trachea. Keelah, she wanted him to die of asphyxiation. Torrents of black bitter hate coursed through her veins. She hit him as hard, if not harder, as she could again, but Vect took the punch and didn't let go of her wrist, rather he _crushed _it. It was like a nightmare and Vect was the antagonist. No matter what you threw at the evil in a nightmare, it came at you, it continued to peruse you with the utmost zeal. Tali's punches _felt_ like they did damage to Vect, but her blows actually did _nothing. _

"You little bitch!"

Vect _slung _her to the ground and she skated towards the vending machine, colliding with it hard enough to break the glass face. A shower of glass rained over Tali's body, but she didn't care. She _needed _to get up and defend herself from this unleashed beast. He was more powerful beyond anything she could have imagined a seventeen-year-old could have ever been. The vending machine sparked and popped. The once enticing lights flashed white, like a strobe. Vect cleaved his way towards Tali through the dark but only appeared when the damaged bulb flashed and with each shutter of light, he got closer. Tali closed her eyes for a second to regain strength, but only the ghostly apparition of Vect cleaving towards her haunted the black abyss. A hand crimped Tali's neck and lifted her in the air with the craggy, broken face of the vending machine poking into her back. A blurry image of Vect stared back at her and his white eyes dimmed like a cloud silently moving in front of the moon.

"Vect, what are you doing to her?" screamed the yellow dressed quarian.

"Punishing her."

Vect's voice had been possessed by rage and needed an exorcism. So Tali gave him one: a hard kick between the legs. Sharp pain played hop-scotch up her shin and into her thigh. Vect released Tali and she hit the floor hard, but she crawled towards the Theater Room where no doubt it was going to act as a gladiatorial stage. Caustic light arced into her eyes and she screamed, not because of the light, but because of a hand that seized her ankle.

Vect's hand.

"Let go of Tali!"

The yellow quarian slapped him with her bag. Tali gained a fraction of respect for her, but that was for later. Flipping on her back, Tali kicked him in the face, which did nothing but aggravate him more; a mere bee sting to a frenzied bear. Another swift kick between the legs had more of an effect this time. Black vomit spattered the inside of his helmet like a bullet had hit him in the back of the head and exited through his mouth.

He roared. This time, the demon who once possessed his voice was overthrown by something far worse. It chilled Tali's blood, like an icy scalpel scraping across her bones. Several adults came to restrain the out of control quarian. Tali's head _clanked _to the floor, exhausted, relieved, and enraged. Her eyes clamped shut and her chest heaved up and down, up and down.

"Hold him down!"

"I can't!"

Tali opened her eyes and saw Vect grab one of the adults by the arm, folded the man's arm on his back and levered his opposition in a way where Tali's savior was _slung _over Vet's back and hit the floor. There was a dry, brittle _crack_, shortly followed by a cry of agony. Tali saw an ivory spear bite through the heroic quarian's arm fabric and Vect stood over the man's body. His head unnaturally locked onto Tali's and he pushed through the sea of people, moving them without physically touching them. He had one thing on his mind and Tali wasn't about to find out what he had planned for her. He was blood thirsty, desperate for revenge and desired nothing more than to destroy the catalyst to his family's fallout. Vect's hand rifled into his pack and out came a stiletto thin enough to lodge between Tali's rib cage and burrow deep into her heart. Tali had minimal defense training, but she had some, none the less. Instead of a terrified _muhuhuuuah_ from deep in her throat, she found herself silent, it was salient and overtook her. Everyone stared at the blade, then to Tali. She was on her own and she was ready even though Vect was probably going to kill her. Time slowed, the black blade shone bright, and Tali dropped her school pack and raised her fists. The eyes of everyone in the Theater Room slowly swiveled towards the two as blood, from one of them, was going to be spilled.

_Drama._

_ Fear._

_ Rage._

_ Death._

All were themes of theater. All made for a good show, but this was not acting, rather real and Tali knew unlike the movies, this fight was going to probably last seconds and one, her or Vect, would be standing at the end, after the climax had ended.

"Someone do something!"

Tali ignored the voice, the bell that started the final round, the final fight. Vect was going for Tali's ribs, but to her surprise, she found herself dance around the razor, trying to get in close to Vect to limit his longer reach and power. Tali's elbow sunk deep into Vect's neck and her right leg hooked around his calf. She pushed herself into him with all her force, sending both her and Vect to the ground. The blade scraped up and down Tali's suit, riding near her kidneys, although the pointed edged couldn't find that soft sweet spot it yearned to bite into. Tali's face was inches away from Vect's. He screamed and flecks of vomit speckled the inside of his mask. Silently, Tali grabbed the arm which held the blade and pulled it between both their chests. Vect panted and with one arm throttled Tali's neck and with the other, he pushed the blade towards her heart. His arms inflated and he squeezed and he pushed. Tali, with both arms, grabbed Vect's hand with the knife and pushed down on it, using her body weight to add additional leverage. It was an even fight. She had two arms and her body against one of his possessed pylon like appendages. His knife scraped her chin as she twisted his wrist and grabbed the blade from his grip. The knife fit into her palm perfectly... too perfectly, in fact. The rubber grip flexed beneath her hand, no doubt smiling.

"She's going to kill him! Someone stop her!"

_Kill._

Another theme of theater.

"Keelah," she gasped and let go of the blade. It clattered to the ground and spun like a pinwheel on the worn floor. Vect gasped and pushed Tali off his chest. He was moments away from death and knew it.

"Police, move out of the way!"

A quarian the size of Vect burst through the crowd of onlookers.

"Tali'Zorah and Vect'Ramah," he looked down at the two and scanned them with an identification tool. "I need both of you to come with me." His tone was fierce, as was demanding. Tali grabbed her bag, glanced at the knife and swiftly put it in her pack without the law enforcement officer seeing so. Vect followed the officer, as did Tali.

Jail

She thought of the word and tears brimmed on the ridges of her eyelids.

_Isolation. _

_ Another theme used in theater._

_Murder._

Keelah, she was about to _murder _Vect. It was in self-defense, but her memory of quarian laws about self-defense and taking another's life were foggy at best at the moment. She was ashamed. Ashamed of herself and of her father, someone she trusted and looked up to. His blood ran through her veins. She just wanted to purge herself of his filth and vile blood. Her family was always looked at as a solid team who supported each other, pushed each other, and stayed strong and loyal. They fought through times of hard and through the distaste and popularity others showed towards them. Tali's mother, Rael's _wife, _loved him. How could her father plunge a knife into her back so deep it speared her heart? What were her grandparents going to think of this? How would they react to the ultimate act of betrayal? The officer punched in a code to the temporary detainment station. Inside there was a reception desk and about five chairs with a camera and an armed guard.

"You two stay here for a moment, the Chief has something to tell both of you," said the officer. He walked out of the room and left both Tali and Vect standing alone in the room with the receptionist behind bullet resistant glass. Tali knew the woman behind the glass, Mrs. Kall, her neighbor. Mrs. Kall slowly stood from her chair and pressed a hand against the glass.

"Tali, sweetheart?"

Tali was too ashamed to speak back to Mrs. Kall. She looked away and towards Vect. His soldier like posture was that of an old man's who had lost everything. She put a hand on his shoulder.

"I am _soorry, _Vect, " she purred. His mask's sanitation system cleaned up the mess he made in the helmet. He said nothing. The door hissed open and an overweight quarian, a rare sight, walked into the room and behind him was Auntie Raan. A rancid and sickening aura spilled into the room following the wake of the Chief and Auntie Raan.

"Tali," said the Cheif. "Vect. I... Shala, maybe you should."

Something was wrong and Tali felt it in her gut.

"Auntie?"

"Tali," the rough voice was smooth as polished glass. "Something happened."

"Wh-what happened?"

_Dread._

_ Yet another theme._

Tali and Vect looked at each other, sensing they were not brought here because of the fight. Rather, something that made the word dread an inferior adjective to the situation. Tali tried to think of a word, but nothing more impactful came to mind.

Auntie Raan slipped her hands around Tali's waist and embraced her. The hug was ice cold.

"Your mother is dead."

Her vision flashed white and the breath was savagely sucked from her lungs. When she was nine and had her first suit, she and her friends were climbing some cargo containers, building up muscle after being stuck in the bubbles for years. They had a competition to get to the top of these massive crates filled with raw minerals. Of course, they weren't supposed to be in there. It was restricted, but this was the place where her curiosity was molded into a sharp and hungry blade. Not used to climbing, Tali slipped and fell a long way, landing right on her back. She thought she was paralyzed from the blow. The pain flooded her body. It felt like battalions of fire ants had made a great crusade to the far reaching corners of her body, preaching and spreading only pain. Air wasn't swelling into her lungs and she thought it was her last living moments. That is what Tali felt when those four words assaulted her body and brutally tore her apart, both mind and body.

_ "No!"_

Tali squeezed Auntie Raan and burrowed her face into Raan's shoulder.

"It is okay, baby."

_"No!"_

"Vect, your mother and father have also passed away. The ship had a filtering problem that they were on. Everyone died," said the Chief.

Through her tears, Tali saw Vect slide against the wall and fall to the floor. The room was like an oil painting through Tali's tears. She couldn't believe it. Finally, the word she searched for _accelerated _into her mind's eye.

_Tragedy._

_ Yet another theme of theater. _

Tali cried out in pain and crushed Auntie Raan through the hug with all the force she should could muster, which wasn't much. She screamed into her aunt's shoulder. Mrs. Kall came out to comfort Vect, of whom had no one left. Again, Tali thought of her father. Vect's and Tali's eyes made contact, which hurt Tali the most. With a single look, he tore out her heart. Vect said earlier that her father moved his mother to another ship. That must've been the one that failed. Tali's father, through his greed and lust towards another woman, had murdered the one he wished to protect. Auntie Raan lead Tali back to the Zorah household, set her in bed, and called Tali's professors to let them know she won't be returning to class for the next several days. Tali cried herself to sleep.

_Tali's mother sat in a chair, hand neatly folded in her lap. She wore the same colors as her, purple. "Tali, you _must _wake up."_

"Tali?"

A soft hand woke her and she turned over to meet her father's face. Her eyes felt sticky to open, but she managed. She could tell her father was choked up over the matter.

"Do Grandma and Grandpa know Mama is gone?"

"Yes they do. They are coming over soon."

Tali licked her lips.

"Did you love her?"

Rael'Zorah shuddered at the question. "Of course I loved your mother, Tali." He hugged Tali who sat up from her cot.

"No father, did you love... _her._" Her father's arms went limp and he retreated from his embrace. "Vect, her son, told me."

"Tali, that was..."

"You don't have to explain yourself."

Her voice was void of emotion.

Tali rolled over and went back to sleep. She could hear her father, the most powerful man in the fleet, sob.

_Tali walked closer to her mother, who still sat in her chair, like a guard in her mind, watching over as she slept. "Tali?"_

_ "Yes, mother?"_

_ "I loved you and I wish we could spend more time together, but right now, babe, you have to wake up." Her mother's slender finger pointed behind Tali._

Tali could hear two male voices speaking to each other. One came from a broken man and the other whispered. It was Tali's father's dad, her grandpa. She faced the wall and dim yellow light subtly stained the purple cloth hanging over the rusty bulkheads. Tali blinked but didn't move. She listened, _desperately _hoping she woke from a nightmare.

"Rael, listen to me, son. She was a good woman, a great wife. I loved her as much as you did," whispered the old man. "I had your back at every turn you took, even if I disagreed with your choice for a wife, but I showed love and compassion anyways. A military man shouldn't have children and I feel Tali was your greatest mistake. You have something to lose now, which makes you a weak leader."

"Father."

"No, son, listen to me." Grandpa spat venom from his mouth.

"You are soft. I raised you to be _harder _than this!"

Tali couldn't believe what she was listening to. Tali used to sit on his lap and have him read her stories. He used to make her laugh, get her gifts, and show her love when in reality, he was a psychopath. Remember the psychology course she took a while back, she remembered her professor saying that psychopaths exist everywhere. They can be flamboyant, quiet, or sleepers.

"Father, how much have you had to drink tonight?"

"Don't you say that to me."

"_How much?"_

"Let me tell you something, son." Tali could feel Grandpa point a finger at her back from across the room. It burned hot. "_She _is the reason you had an affair. _She _is the reason you cracked and broke the promise of loyalty when getting married." Tali lay still, her heart in her throat. It throbbed with hate and sorrow. "You should have listened to me when you told me your wife was pregnant."

"_No_, don't say it again."

There was a pause and Tali's suit amplified the volume. She could hear heavy breathing from both men. The static she could once hear hanging lightly in the air shut off and the mood went stagnant.

"_You should have gotten the abortion_. You should have pulled that little bitch out of the womb with a hook."

_Betrayal._

_ A final act. The performance was coming to a close. All that was left was a climax, but stories like that don't exist in real life. _This_ was the end._

Tali heard shuffling and her father left the room. How he didn't stick up for her or himself was loathsome. He was truly a weak man and if she ever confronted him again, Tali swore to herself to never speak of what happened in this room. Her fist curled around a stuffed pyjak that her grandfather gave her years ago. She pushed it away and laid there for a few moments, trying to keep her heart from shooting out her chest and ricocheting around the room. Suddenly, Tali heard drunken shuffling, the small light turned off and the door hissed shut. Finally, she was alone.

"_How could he!"_

Tali sat up and threw the pyjak away from her. It spiraled into the black void that was her home. Tali reached for her school bag and threw it to the ground, its contents scurried to the corners of the room, except for the knife that landed on her pillow. She cursed as loud as she could. A framed picture of her mother and father was poised on her parent's bedside table. Her mother's bright eyes gleefully glowed back at Tali, while all Tali could find in her father's was betrayal. She picked it up and smashed it against the wall and it detonated, the glass falling like coins dumped into water and danced on the floor.

"Tali."

The voice bayoneted Tali in the chest like a lance of ice. Her grandfather flicked on the light and she found him lounging in a steel chair. The shadows of the room, like a stage curtain, his masked face. The yellow lamp illuminated one thing on the man's body.

_A handgun dangled between his legs. _

"Did you hear what your father and I discussed?" he asked, malice dribbling from his forked tongue.

"Every word."

"I was hoping so."

Grandpa leaned forward, his head dappled in the nauseating light. Both Tali and Grandpa were acting the final performance. The climax was coming. Tali could feel the mood become charged, like the ions before lightning strikes. This room, this _stage_ held two characters partaking in a masquerade, their costumes made of light and shadow.

_Mood._

Grandpa stood up, walked to Tali's cot and sat down, his hand softly patting Tali's unmade bed.

"You should sit next to Grandpa, Tali." His voice was sugar coated poison.

She listened to his order and sat down next to him.

"I fought in many battles, Tali. Did I ever tell you some of my war stories?"

"No, Grandpa."

He caressed his handgun and said, "I've killed people with this gun before. It holds accountable the lives of seven." He pointed the gun at Tali's face and whispered _bang_. He withdrew from her head. "Look at the heat sink, Tali." He gently pushed the back of Tali's head towards the side of the gun.

"It is glowing red." Tali looked up at her Grandpa. "What have you done?"

She thought back to what Vect said, about how you really don't know a person, how you really don't know what they are capable of doing, no matter how intimate you are with them. Again, Vect was right, for a second time.

"I have been planning this for seventeen years now and today, I have finally declared war and I have almost won. I have one more objective to eliminate before I acknowledge checkmate and you, my beautiful granddaughter of mine, you are it." His hand squeezed the back of her skull. "Keelah, I have always _hated _you to death. You and your mother have melted the _hardened _man that is my son." His eyes thinned through a smile. The lips of his pistol kissed the faceplate of Tali's mask. The rifled bore of the handgun coiled towards the breech where the heat sink still glowed pink, like the open mouth of a snake before accelerating towards its prey.

"I snipped all the strings to your mother's side. I shot her parents today. Your mother was a puppet without a master. A puppet who had the inability to dance on a stage with such grace and beauty as she once did." Tali peeked at Grandpa from the smooth side of the pistol. His knuckles that scrapped over the trigger got slowly closer to the base of his hand. "The last thing they saw was what you are seeing right now. You both share something not many people get the opportunity to. I want you to relish this moment Tali'Zorah, for it will be your last."

Tali snatched the blade off the pillow and lodged it deep into her grandfather's neck. He gasped, the air sucked from his lungs and his pistol went off, blasting a red hot crater in the wall behind Tali's head.

"You bosh'tet, Grandpa! Why?"

The old man clasped his neck as Tali retreated the knife from the gaping hole. Blood sputtered from the slit in his suit and pulsed as his heart took off, fueled by the organic jet fuel known as adrenaline. Great red puffs of atomized blood misted the air. Grandpa aimed his pistol once again at Tali, but she was on top of him before the second shot could peg her. She stabbed and stabbed at the vile old man until his gurgling seized, replaced by raspy yet subtle breaths of air.

"Tali!" Her father breached the room. "What have you done?"

"The final act."

Tali's grip on Grandma's hands loosened.

"Your hands are not the only tools that have dried blood on them, Grandma."

"Tali," whispered Shepard, who was quiet and still, like a perched bird on a wire after enduring a storm. "That knife..."

"It is the one on my boot, yes. It was instrumental in making me the person I am today. I carry it everywhere I go. It reminds me of what has to be done when times get rough, and it kills my foes swiftly."

"But," said Shepard, "I thought you said that you got the knife as a going away gift for your pilgrimage."

"I lied, _soorry_."

"So what happened after that, Tali?"

She looked to Shepard and said, "No one found out about the affair. That stayed between my father and I. As for Grand... the _thing _I killed, it was out of self-defense. The police tried to blanket that story as much as possible. They later found out that he set off a small explosive charge that disrupted the filtration unit on the ship everyone was on. Post traumatic stress from being in the special forces. He was still fighting a delusional war."

"What happened to your father's mother?" asked Grandpa.

"She shot herself in the head later that evening."

The table was quiet, sober with the fading fumes of Tali's volatile tale.

"A black hole entered my life that day," said Tali, "They are cold. They hold no remorse. It stole almost everything I had. The _gravity _of that situation was out of control."

"You know they say that black holes are wormholes," said Grandpa, "Sure it took everything, but where must the happiness go after it is taken away from you?"

"Somewhere distant," said Tali.

"Yes," boomed grandpa, "It isn't destroyed, sweetheart, but it has been trying to find you for the past couple of years and all of that happiness is sitting at this table, right back where it should be."

"Huh?"

"Tali, think about it. Black holes tear things apart, but the objects, whether planets, happiness or lives, are put back together in a different form. Your Captain is what has been reincarnated from your misery. The universe works in odd ways, my sweetheart. I think my grandson is the product of your story; the universe's apology gift."

Tali, through wide eyes, stared at _her _Captain.

Grandpa continued: "It sensed your fate and importance, therefore, it brought a bond between you and your Captain to make up for its mistake."

Tali didn't have words to say to the man, but she hugged him from across the table and whispered _thank you _in the quarian tongue.

_A weight has been lifted. A black hole abolished. _

_**A breeze is resistance,**_

_**A breeze is what happens before a storm,**_

_**It is prologue of things to come.**_

_**But after a breeze, there is silence-**_

_**There is peace,**_

_**The calm before the storm. **_

_**This is what to come.**_

**You've made it past Tali's tale, now pat yourself on the backs. Again, I wish to thank VandalX187 (some of you might know the mighty Tali'Zorah vet from the forums) for his fresh eyes. A man cannot request more from a friend than a friend willing to help. More is to come and please, feel free to leave comments on what you thought. Criticisms have not made me callused, rather further open my mind. **

**Very best,**

**FsDxRAGE **


	7. Chapter 7

A planet sized pen brimming with purple ink broke across the sky and was smeared by the palm of a higher power. Pinpricks of stars broke through the flood of purple and on the bottom rim, throbbing pink bled off the sky and into the sentient trees back behind the small lake. The capitol of Terra Nova was settling into their beds - pulling silken blankets under their chins and curling their toes under the soft fabric, feeling the cool sheets fade warm after a long day of corporate work. This city was not ready. This planet was not ready for the Reapers of whom will tear through the atmosphere in red hot globs with the purpose of swiftly taking the lives of millions - melting the glass window panes into molten syrup, cooking the pavement into polished glass and vaporizing people until they blow away in the wind and dust the burning trees with their ashes. Their screams will land on deaf ears - the Reapers will conduct an orchestra of destruction and lead a chorus of screams. They are all blind sheep who will be corralled by the thousands of mechanized wolves and will push them off the cliff of the universe, plunging them into an endless abyss where even memories are annihilated from time and space.

"Tali?"

She turned to meet Shepard's face of whom expressed concern. He is her shepherd. The people who inhabit this galaxy will have to follow his command in order to fight back against these wolves. He will ignite the dark path ahead with cunning and have to enlighten the galactic communities or else they will all fall into utter darkness where there are no lights, no candles, no flicker of burning hope. Tali hugged him and he returned a warm embrace like he knew what thoughts were swimming in her head.

"Are you going to be all right?" he asked.

Her fingers did not unfold.

"I am going to be _alwright_."

She looked at the city from over Shepard's broad shoulder and saw it ablaze in the fading sun's last light. It was a sign of things to come.

"I can feel them."

"Feel who?" she asked.

"The Reapers. I get flashes of them burning and tearing apart the protheans. They leave mile wide craters in the center of populated cities. Big_ red_ hot craters. Plumes of smoke fog the atmosphere and bakes planets like sticking it in convection ovens. I see the mantles of planets being torn open creating bloody scars on the faces of these once beautiful worlds. They _are _coming soon. I feel them. Millions of them."

She squeezed the hand of her captain, rekindling his fading flame of hope - faintly fanning it so it will bloom into a full grown bonfire once again. One cannot use logic when thinking about Reapers. One _must _use their hearts when going against unfathomable odds not in their favor. Tali decided not to say anything, rather she showed her concern and positivity through a gentle squeeze of his hand. Maybe it would be better to dive right into the fight instead of waiting on the edge of a knife - waiting to be impaled or come out with just wounds. Either way, they have one hell of a fight ahead of them. It will be huge, beyond anyone's comprehension. It already has snowballed and made its own gravitational field which is tugging at all of them, especially Shepard. The sky deepened in color and the pink rim above the tree line melted away into a cooler color.

"Tali?"

She turned to meet Grandpa's face that was pressed through the sliding door to the back porch.

"Yes, Grandpa?"

"Do you want to see the ship I commanded before I retired?"

"Yes... yes, indeed."

Her tone was somber.

"Come on inside, child."

She caught a sound of pity in his voice towards her.

Tali looked into Shepard's face of which was now grinning. He lightly kissed her smoked veil and stared once more into the sunset. A breeze slipped off the placid lake and rifled through their clothes. Tali remembers standing on the porch of the beach house they rented on Diamond Cove with her helmet off. The smell of salt water, the refreshing aroma of a brigade of cool air pushing into the stifling hot ranks of the fading afternoon sun, and most of all, the feel of Shepard's lips brushing against hers. The last molten drip of sun splattered silently behind the trees as Tali walked inside of the house. Even though her air filters siphoned most aromatics from the air, she could still pick the fragrance of a scented burning candle flickering on the dinner table. It smelled of cinnamon. She knew this because Kasumi wore a perfume that smelled like that and was the only way Tali could tell if she was sneaking around the Normandy cloaked. Grandma sat at a pulled out chair, aimlessly staring at her hands - her tools of destruction.

They shook. Tali could almost hear the clatter of metal, see scalpels instead of fingers.

Tali's mouth opened to say something but she uttered silence. Ahead, Grandpa carefully stuck his socked feet into some blue plaid slippers and waved to Tali without looking at her. She followed his command and they went down a slight flight of stairs into a dug out part of the house - something called a den.

"Well, there she is. The best damn ship on Earth."

Encased in a glass box was a six foot long model of Grandpa's ship.

"This is the USS John F. Kennedy," Grandpa said, clearly being assaulted by nostalgia.

"That is named your president that was shot by a sharpshooter, right?"

Grandpa looked at Tali and whispered, "Yes. In fact, there were more shooters involved as revealed twenty years ago by new evidence. To all the conspiracy believers out there, that was like a drop of jelly to ants on a hot summer day."

"We had something like that happen on Rannoch hundreds of years ago." She bent over to look at the model in detail, peering at Grandpa from his reflection in the glass. "Some people say it was the first sign of hostility shown by the geth. The lead designer of the geth and forerunner of artificial intelligence was killed by a rifle shot four miles away. Only a synthetic could pull that off," Tali said, not taking her eyes off the model. "Now I am not sure what really happened, but people are still upset about that."

"Huh, Rannoch sounds a lot like Earth," said Grandpa.

"I guess. I have seen vids and pictures of Earth, but never visited it."

"I love it. Rich culture, great beaches, wonderful cities, amazing people, and pretty damn good food. Rannoch didn't looks so bad, well off of the pictures I have seen of it."

"I hope to visit it one day," Tali said more to herself than anyone else. "Maybe... build a house on it." She saw Shepard flinch. Grandpa sensed uneasiness in the room.

"That man over there," Grandpa pointed at Shepard, "helped me build this sucker years ago. That is how he got into models."

"That took three years to construct, Tali. Many days of my summer were spent painting that."

Tali looked up and stuffed her fists into both hips. "So that is where he picked up that hobby and steady hand. You should see his collection on the Normandy."

"That's my boy." Grandpa heavily patted him on the shoulder. Shepard grinned and patted the top of Grandpa's wrinkled hand.

"Anyways, Tali." Grandpa hobbled to the case, bent over and placed both wide hands on his knees. "This was the oldest ship in the Navy, built back in 2018. Powered by two nuclear reactors and could hold about eighty aircraft. We just kept upgrading her, putting new tech on top of the old. It was a jumbled mess but she had character. How do you like _that_, Tali?"

"I love it when men talk big, heavy machines."

"Does Shepard like to talk about big heavy machines as well?"

She thought of the Reapers.

"I mainly do the talking about mechanical objects. Shepard just listens."

Grandpa looked at his Grandson.

"I think it is sexy," he said.

Tali blurted out an embarrassing laugh, dog bark thing. She covered her mouth and laughed silently, her back jerking up and down.

"The amount Tali and I laughed means we should live past two-hundred," Shepard joked. "Tali, talk about the Normandy really fast."

She coughed then said, "The Normandy SR-2 is great ship. The design was in co-operation with human and turian engineers." She decided to leave out the fact that they were once under Cerberus command and that they stole the design of her old baby, the SR-1, "She houses a Tantalus Core in the bowls of the ship outputting about one-hundred times the power of your old ship, Grandpa. Think of trying to fit a watermelon into your mouth, and that should give you an idea of how hard it was for those engineers to fit that engine under her hood. She is coated in two-foot-thick ablative armor - armor that reacts to kinetic energy and molten jets of tungsten, depleted uranium, or copper created by the Munroe effect that can easily bite through regular armor. It explodes and pushes the dangerous stuff away, leaving us nice and safe. Do you want me to tell you about the stealth systems? How much "horsepower" out engine has? What about our upgraded Thanix canons?"

Grandpa's mouth hung open.

"You're right, that is sexy."

"Grandpa!" shouted Tali, batting his chest.

All of them howled and Tali heard grandma giggle in the kitchen.

"We had similar boats hundreds of years ago. Just like these but different looking," said Tali.

Tali gaped at the model. It must have weight close to one-hundred pounds. It's deck was a carpet of asphalt holding about a dozen of dated aircraft, fifty years old by the looks of it.

"Well it looks like being a ship captain runs in the family," Tali said impressed.

"That's right," said Shepard.

"So what happened to it?"

Grandpa looked at Tali, eyes shimmering. "They gave me enough money to retire and keep my mouth shut, took it from me, and made it into a floating museum."

"I'm... I'm _soorry._"

"Don't worry about it, darling."

"When did you get... kicked off?"

"When we made first contact."

"That seems not coincidental what so ever."

"That is because it wasn't. I think they didn't want us to look like a rudimentary race that still used boats." His tone switched to something hateful. "I hope those little shits who roam my decks with brochures, sunscreen, and fanny packs all fall overboard." A laugh belched from his guts, startling Tali. "I loved that damn ship to death. We had the nickname The Kraken." Tali could smell cologne batting at her face from Grandpa. "And that was not the ship's nickname but mine. I flipped the Alliance Secretary of Defense's desk and punched him in the face when he told me about the decommissioning."

"That sounds familiar," Tali muttered to Shepard.

"Huh?

"Oh, do you know of Captain Anderson?"

"Yes," Grandpa said. "Good man he is. I read the book about him and Saren. Scary stuff he went through."

"He punched Udina in the face in order for us to escape the Citadel," said Tali.

"That old bag deserved someone's four knuckles driving into his face," Grandpa bellowed through laughter. "Your Captain, Tali, needs to publish a book one day so everyone can learn about your adventures. In fact, I have been meaning to ask you, that asteroid X57 a couple years back that almost hit us, I heard a Spectre saved us from that. Do you in fact know him or her that stopped that rock from breaking this planet in half?"

"Yes, I know him," said Shepard, both python like arms across his barreled chest.

"Tell him I said thank you. I like my house the way it is. I would have been very disappointed if it got crushed."

"Your welcome, Grandpa."

Tali giggled.

"I... oh, that was you?" he shouted.

"Us." He wrapped an arm around Tali's shoulder.

"I swear, I never thought that little boy who played with bulldozers in our backyard was going to save his grandpa's skin one day."

A look of dread washed over Shepard's face and his arms went limp on Tali's shoulder. Usually, he is in the brightest of moods and forces everyone to smile when he walks into the room. She remembers the pranks he played on everyone before the Suicide Mission just to ease the tension. Never before has Tali seen such strategic use of a whoopee cushion before. His mood today has been bouncing everywhere, not taking a chance to rest and settle down. He was acting strange. Sure they had to refuel and get some essential supplies for the Normandy, but there was something else Shepard wasn't telling Tali. What was the real reason they were here, in this house?

Suddenly, the real reason as to why Shepard wanted to visit his grandparents in the first place _collided _with Tali. Sure he wanted to see them and introduce Tali to them, but he...

_No._

Tali's throat tightened and her hand wrapped around Shepard's ferociously.

_Shepard wanted to say goodbye to them._

"What is wrong, Grandson? Did I say something?"

Shepard let go of Tali and he went to hug his grandpa.

"Now now, what is wrong?"

Tali's knees quivered and almost collapsed. Her bowels trembled and made a funny noise while tears rimmed her eyelids. Grandpa kept reiterating _what's wrong _and each time he said it, the more nervous he got. Tali's eyes went back to the model, then to the kitchen table, through the door way. Grandma still sat there. The smell of cinnamon would never be a scent of hominess nor comfort, but of sorrow and anticipation - a negative turning point in her life.

"There is something we have to talk about, Grandpa. I have got to get it off my chest."

He let go of his grandfather. Tali could see Grandpa's eyes were red cotton balls - inflamed and swelling with fear. Tali imagined them popping like water balloons. Grabbing Grandpa's arms, she and Shepard helped him to the kitchen table. Grandma's eyes flickered up to Tali's. They glowed yellow in the candle light - the flame dancing on top of her oil slicked iris'.

"This night turned into something dark from something that was once light. I think it is me," said Grandma, hands cupped over her mouth. A breeze from outside knifed through the parted porch door making the flame writhe in pain.

"Grandma, do you remember me telling you about Sovereign?" Shepard asked.

"The Reaper, yes."

"Well..."

"There are thousands of them coming," finished Tali.

"Hundreds of thousands and they are coming _soon_."

Grandma shot a look towards Shepard who added to the statement. Shepard filled them in on the upcoming invasion, the protheans, the 50,000 year time period, everything. Tali sat there quietly, listening to Shepard talk - a husk void of emotion. Grandma grabbed Tali's hands and desperately held onto them. Tali watched a small black bug climb on the table between their hands. The cinnamon flame rippled off its obsidian carapace as it crawled towards Grandma's tanned hands which were tied taught around Tali's three fingers. Looking down at them, it was hard to imagine them being tools that made people writhe in pain and cry out while sharp objects inched closer and closer, then bit...

"I have... got to soak this up for a minute," said Grandma.

She slapped the little bug as it began to crawl on her hand. It was so small, she was so mighty, so much better than that bug. It was just an annoyance to her and something so insignificant, she didn't even flinch or bother to show emotion towards its death.

She walked into the kitchen and pulled a bottle from a wine rack.

"My boy," Grandpa addressed Shepard, "Have you come to us to say goodbye? Can we do anything to escape this?" Grandpa looked into Shepard's face. "There is no escape, is there?" His lower lip quivered as did Tali's, followed by Shepard. Keelah, Tali hated this. All she has grown to love in the world was on the verge of annihilation. What of her family? Aunty Raan? Will they too just be turned into debris - fossilized remains floating silently in the vacuum of space for 50,000 years until another space faring species finds them and places their mummified remains in museums for others to gawk at?

"Not if we beat them, Grandpa." The two men hugged and Tali placed a reassuring hand on the old man's thigh. "If we don't though, I have an apartment on Intai'sei. Terra Nova is going to be a prime target, so I suggest you stay at my apartment until we beat the sons-of-bitches."

In the kitchen, Grandma set her wine goblet down hard on the counter.

"I am not moving anywhere. I am going to hold my ground right here in my dream house. Beautiful memories have been had here. Memories of you growing up, my Love. Memories of you playing in the backyard with your friends, picnics on Sunday afternoons, trips to the beach, sleepovers in your room. I can't leave here, my Love. A couple of old machines are not going to make me move."

"Grandma, there aren't going to be a couple machines, but _thousands._ It will rain two kilometer long spaceships who have genocide as efficient if the clouds showered nuclear bombs. If you stay here, you _will _die."

"We need time to think," she said.

"Think about what?" Shepard's fist slammed on the table. "Grandpa, tell me you will use your brain. Think about what I am telling you!"

Tali's head snapped to Grandpa, her spine shot erect.

"You will stop them before they hit us, I have faith in you kid."

Shepard blew air through his pursed lips that pressed together forming two white hot razors.

"You don't understand. They are going to hit us simultaneously, use the mass relays to literally stride from system to system eliminating everything. Scorched earth. Rolling thunder. Carpet bombing the hell out of everything populated!"

"If we go to your apartment, we will lay in wait for our destruction," Grandma added. "I don't want to be hunted the remainder of my life like an animal. I cannot bear that burden."

"I will stop them, I will kill every last one of them to keep my family, my friends, my crew... Tali, alive. I swear to you both."

Tali stared into the dark torrents of Shepard's eyes. For the first time in a while, she saw that Rottweiler come alive. The candle glowed in his eyes but it did not reflect the meek flame, rather what Tali saw was a bonfire. Her Shepard was back. It took his family recognizing eminent defeat - accepting it - for him to come back to life. His muscles flared, his gaunt cheeks filled up and his eyes had new found life brought back. His voice vibrated Grandma's wine goblet, like Grandpa's did when she first met him. It boomed with passion and love, wanting to take the fight to the machines, wanting to slap them in the face and tell them who was boss. Keelah, she just wanted to embrace him yet he was unleashed, throwing everything he had at his Grandparents. He was pissed, but he didn't spout hateful words, rather he showered them with stern love. He wasn't like male protagonists in those sappy romance novels Kasumi and Kelly consumed. He never directly expressed his love through soft words and hollow phrases, he showed it through action, looks, and subtle movements. He showed it through saving the damn galaxy, putting his life on the line daily in order to protect everyone he loves, including the luckiest damn quarian in the galaxy. He has shown his love for her before, through intimate moments and love making, yet Tali just now saw it on a grand scale, a scale that is 120,000 light-years across. Keelah, she didn't need diamonds on rings, pearls beaded on necklaces, perfume wrapped in fancy paper or other material needs of the sorts. Suddenly, she felt pity towards every woman who is in love and alive at this moment. Shepard is giving her the galaxy, physically and symbolically. He is giving her life.

"So, you are going to give up on your daughter? My mother will be commanding a ship that will _have _to fight the Reapers. You are giving up on _your_ great-grandchildren, on me, on Tali?"

Tali put a fist up to her chest.

"Sitting here and waiting to die is not something to be proud of, not part of my legacy. You must evade, fight, and evade. Live as long as you can, stick it out and not give up. Look at how the Red Army won Stalingrad all those years ago. They faced overwhelming odds and defeat, yet they held their ground from the invading army who wanted to sterilize _their _land. They fought back through the toughest of conditions. They fought to protect their land, their families, their loved ones that would have died or lived miserable lives if the enemy broke through." His fist crashed into the tabletop. He began to pace the kitchen. "You can still keep those memories of me in your backyard, those Sunday picnics, the first time I brought your future granddaughter-in-law to meet you... don't throw them away here. If you stay, you will be vaporized, suffer nuclear radiation and have your skin peel off like cooked phyllo dough, or die in your beds without even knowing what in the hell hit you from orbit. You will either suffer or die without a trace - ripped apart, burnt, crushed and smashed into the scorched ground that will soon be this planet." Shepard was breathing heavily and a single tear fell down his face. He was trying to say something but his trembling lower lip seized it from happening. "I love all of you."

Tali was speechless, unable to mutter a single syllable. Grandma sunk her forehead into his shoulder and Grandpa went over to hug both of them. All Tali could think about was how many families will not get the chance to do this - the _billions _of families who will parish beneath molten cement, cherry hot rebar. All those people who will be turned to ash from orbital fire and not get to resolve their love. Children will be going to school, husbands and wives going to work without getting to say goodbye. Soon, the schools will be set aflame, playgrounds melted with children cooking on the metal bars like meat on a grill, and corporate buildings sliced in half, the wives and husbands tumbling hundreds of stories to their deaths. She thought of all the fights people might have gotten into before their deaths - the slammed doors, the exchange of hateful words and rude gestures. They will never be able to say _I'm sorry and I love you._ At that moment, Tali hated the Citadel Council for not releasing the truth.

"My Captain, my _love _has lost too many people, Grandma and Grandpa," Tali started, "Please, don't throw away your lives like this. We have seen too many go like that. It _huurts _him, kills something inside of him each time it happens. He loves you."

"Tali, my dear, come," Grandpa whispered. She joined them in the hug.

"You are part of our family now, Tali. Even if you had one, we would still accept you with open arms and loving embrace."

_Family._

The word choked her up. Not only did Shepard give her love and the galaxy, but he gave her a family, all of which are impossible to obtain from a quarian standpoint, was literally handed to her.

_I am the luckiest damn girl in this galaxy._

"We'll run, my Darling. We will run," Grandma muttered through Shepard's shoulder. "We will run like hell, wherever you want us to go, we will go and hide."

"Thank you," both Shepard and Tali whispered.

They all hugged a bit longer and Tali didn't want to let go.

Tali's hands fit into Shepard's like a glove.

_Lots of practice, I guess._

They walked along the lake in the backyard, on a gravel path which was lit by subtle yellow lamps. Fish, most likely from Illium, swam in the pond, glowing neon blue and leaving a fluorescent baby-blue trail in their wake like a melting comet in the black of space. Neither of them spoke since the episode in the kitchen yet both smiled.

"I like watching you shout." Tali broke the silence. "I've said that before, haven't I?"

"Right after screaming at your admirals you told me that."

"Hmm, you have a good memory."

"Anything that comes out of those lips of yours stick to my brain."

"Is that a good or bad thing?" she asked flirtatiously.

He didn't answer but chuckled. It was an infectious little laugh.

"I've been meaning to ask you something, Shepard."

"Uh-hu?"

Tali pointed across the lawn at what looked like a little outhouse attached to the side of his grandparent's house with a big air filtration unit on top. It grew out of the their house like a growth. "What is that?"

Shepard's eyes followed her finger towards the small outbuilding.

"Oh, that is my old bedroom. Remember how I told you I had really bad allergies here when I was a kid? Something about this weird pollen from these even weirder plants that used to grow on Terra Nova effected me negatively until Terra Nova Health and Safety took on the enormous task of destroying them a few years back. Literally, half the population of people on Terra Nova were allergic to the damn pollen, including me. Anyways, I couldn't sleep in the guest bedroom in the house, which oddly enough, my grandparents were not allergic to the pollen like I was, so they built me my own room and air filters that siphons all that gunk from the air. They are useless now, though."

"I see," she chuckled, imagining little Shepard coughing and wheezing at the mercy of something the size of a crumb.

"Hey, me playing soccer with my friends who were not allergic was not a funny sight. I always got picked last by the team captains."

"I know that feeling. When my teachers back in school said 'group up with a partner' I always was left alone. It is a bad situation, let me tell you. Especially when you cared about that kind of stuff back in the day." Tali tried not to think about losing her mother and grandparents.

"Do you want to go on a ride?"

The question caught her off guard.

"A ride where?"

"There was this place a little bit from here. Shall I call it a surprise?"

"I _lurve _surprises, Shepard."

"Okay then!"

Shepard's arms scooped Tali up and carried her across the lawn. His immense strength took her by surprise. He is always so gentle with her it is like he has no strength at all but she knows better. Tali has seen what the commander can do, like literally fist fight the Shadow Broker who outweighed him three-fold. Her fingers curled around Shepard's t-shirt as he carried her across the lawn, onto the drive way, and gingerly let her fall to her feet next to the passenger door of the Corvette. Again, the sight of this car, this thug in a silk gown, brought a sloppy, shaky smile across her lips. The way the car curved and flattened out at the front like a shark sent shivers dashing towards the back of her skull, prickling her skin on the way up. It was feminine looking from the side with its sexy voluptuous hips containing its fat tires, but tapered to a razor's edge at the front - ideal aerodynamics for slicing through the air at high speeds. Her fingers timidly clutched the chromed handle and she flinched, expecting it to growl, maybe turn around and bite her. All she got was the metallic _thock _when the door opened.

"So, where are we going," Tali asked, slipping her behind into the seat.

"Like I said, a surprise."

"Tali'Zorah isn't too good at waiting, but she likes surprises, nonetheless."

"Why does Tali'Zorah refer to herself in the third person?"

She didn't have an answer for that except to just giggle back at him.

"Do you want to start it?"

"The Vette? Keelah, yes!"

Shepard dangled the keys in front of her like bait and she literally launched at them, groping for them in the dark.

"Make sure it is in neutral, first."

"Okay," she said biting her lip. Shepard was grinning.

"You know what?"

"I drive!"

"You took those words out of my mouth."

They switched seats and as Tali circled the car, she traced a line on the car's front lip with her finger, keeping it calm enough until she could sit inside of the beast. The driver's seat wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world, but that was _not _the point. The steering wheel was quite large and the two fat dials carved into the dashboard, watching her like eyes in the dark- predator eyes. There was very little light out at this time of night, but there was enough to see what she was doing.

"Okay, foot on the brake, that is the one in the middle." Her two toes pressed against the pedal. It was stiff. "Take your hand," Shepard grabbed hers softly and placed it on the stick shift that shot out of the transmission tunnel. Tali was bubbling with joy, trying not to giggle uncontrollably but utterly failed. "Foot on the clutch. That is the left petal." Tali stomped the left petal. "Now pull down on the stick." She felt the stick pop and go into neutral. She shook the stick left and right to be sure it was out of gear. Keelah, this was exciting! "Okay, slip the key into the ignition and start her up!" Without hesitation, she jammed the stubby key in and yanked hard right. The whole car shook, coughed and _roared _to life! The vibrations made her sit deeper into the seat and clutch the wheel in excitement.

"I think I know what to do now," she confidently said.

"Oh yeah? I bet you will stall the car within five seconds."

Tali slowly looked over and said, "Do you want to bet on that?"

"If you stall the car within five minutes, you have to promise me a kiss."

"Deal."

_I should just stall this right now..._

Tali pressed the clutch in and revved the engine, pushed the stick towards her right thigh and pushed up into first gear, letting go of the clutch. She could feel the transmission grinding against the engine and smelled something hot. She tried it again and felt the teeth catch, tugging the car forward.

"_Goot _yeah!"

Suddenly intoxicated with her confidence, ego, and the sound of the beast's gravely deep voice, she floored the gas. Savagely, the car _ripped _her head back into the cushioned head rest and the tortured wheels _screamed _under the weight of the car as the hundreds of foot pounds of torque wailed. Tali screamed as loud as she could, without noticing what she was yelling about. She felt so free! The engine hit the red line at thirty miles-per-hour and screamed with her.

_WAHWAHWAHWAH!_

Tali _slammed _the clutch to the floor, lifted the acceleration and pushed the stick down into second gear, revved the engine, and popped the clutch. The Corvette _lurched _forwardand the fat stick on the speedometer flew to the right. She shifted again and continued to yell, this time joined by Shepard who was grabbing onto the closest thing in the car. Tali could see taught tendons stretching in his arms and neck while his left hand clamped onto Tali's thigh ferociously. He wrestled his seatbelt into place and closed his eyes. Tali laughed maniacally and shifted again, hitting one-hundred twenty miles an hour. She flicked on the lights, drifted out of Grandma and Grandpa's street and hit the open road.

"Jesus, Tali slow down!"

"Not going to happen!"

"Oh God!"

She laughed at his terror and wide eyes. The yellow lines on the road blurred as she hit one-fifty. She felt the front end lift a bit and the car got squirrelly under the speed. She brought it down and Shepard let go of her thigh, most definitely leaving a five fingered bruise behind.

_Totally worth it, _she thought.

The speed and brutal power the car output was addicting. She just wanted to capture that essence, boil it over a hot spoon and inject it into her veins. It wasn't adrenaline like she gets in combat but something different. It was... hard to explain. Her chest felt lighter and her stomach sunk into her gut but it felt... good and maybe even sexual. She looked at Shepard. The wind was playing with the collar of his shirt and he was obviously trying to seize control of his breathing once again. He locked eyes with her.

"Look at the road, please!"

"Yes sir."

He laughed, nervously.

"So, where are we going?"

"There is a place on this hill." He chuckled to himself and ran a hand through his stubble. "I know... this might sound weird, but there is a woman out in the middle of nowhere. She reads the future."

"Like the Consort?"

"Yes, sort of, that is. Right before I left for basic when I was a teenager, a group of my friends and I went to her. We were drunk and stupid back then."

"So... what happened?"

"She told me I would die at the age of twenty-nine."

"It looks like she was spot on."

Shepard shot her a look that forced the smile from her lips.

"The thing is... she said I was going to die _twice_."

_**Okay, I lied. This isn't the final chapter, but the one after this one will be. Make sure to check your Fanfiction alerts for the final chapter a couple days before the Mass Effect 3 launch. By the time you read this message, I should be about halfway through with the grand finale... and let me tell you, there will be fireworks! **_

_**-RAGE**_

_**...the guy who never gets mad. **_


	8. Chapter 8: The Finale

**Just to let you all know, this chapter is a bit long, but trust me, it will be rewarding once you hit the end. To those **_**Deception**_** veterans out there, this is a walk in the park for you. **

Tali thought about what Shepard said - what the fortune teller predicted - about dying twice and all. What could that mean? He has already died once, which is weird enough but what could the woman mean by _twice_? Maybe he will get killed in the war that is brewing on the horizon or maybe it means symbolically, like his spirit will die_ if_ they win the war, have that flame extinguished by all the death surrounding his choices. Maybe...

_Maybe I will die._

"What did you think of her first reading when she told you that you would die twice?" asked Tali.

"I thought she was full of shit, but look at how wrong _I _was!"

"Maybe she is wrong and just guessed. I think fortune tellers are full of it anyways." Tali pouted and looked out the window, not wanting to make eye contact with him. Why would he go to a _shtupid_ fortune teller in the first place? "How do you know this place is still operational? I mean, how long ago did you come here?"

"Eleven years ago. Wow, has it been that long?"

Tali fumed under the helmet. The anger took her by surprise and she felt like ripping the steering wheel off the dashboard, whacking Shepard in the face with it for believing in an old woman who foresaw the future and was packed full of bullshit.

"It is nighttime, how do you know she is open at this time?"

"I don't know." He shifted in his seat to get a better look at Tali. "What is up with you?"

"This is _shtupid._"

"It will be really quick. Anyways, think if this as an adventure."

Tali's foot bit into the acceleration and the car cut through the air with the grace of a ballerina, yet is was powered by something scary - something that drank flammable fluids and lubricated its heart with black oil. Maybe that is why Tali found it so attractive. On the outside, it was sleek and sexy, but on the inside, its heart pounded with passion and its crude ventricles drank a deadly and combustible elixir. The road had been flat for about twenty miles but Tali felt her back being pushed deeper into the leather dressed seat and the vibrations played with the bottoms of her thighs. She smiled. Off to their right, Tali could see the capital city glowing amidst the vast dark and she noticed they were climbing a hill, well more of a mountain. Her heart missed a beat when she saw cranes hanging off the tallest of buildings in the distance, working on construction in the dark of night. They were so eager to create and build, not knowing that soon all of their work was going to be destroyed by a storm surge of genocidal machines far greater than anything anyone can fathom. She blinked away a single tear, promising herself that for the rest of the night, there was going to be no more shed on behalf of the imminent Reaper return. This night was Shepard's and hers and _nothing _was going to ruin it. To her right, Shepard had his head leaning on his fist as he stared out the window at the city he watched grow up - that grew up with him. He looked like a little kid for a second.

"I am _soorry _for getting angry at you."

"Don't apologize, Tali. I completely understand. Stress and all..."

"I just don't _waaant _to know how you are going to die a second time. I don't know if I can _leeve _with that knowledge... I don't know if I can _leeve _without you."

Tali's lower lips pouted outwards. Knowing the future is a very dangerous thing to have stored in one's mind. It is like a seed waiting to bloom - waiting to grow its roots into the deepest parts of the brain and psychologically destroy its host. Then there is the fact that if Shepard knows when and where he dies, he might be able to avoid it completely. That is, if he avoids a fight, a fight that would be the end of him, that very moment in which he is supposed to die by... Reapers or whatever, maybe he will die choking on a hotdog or something in the safety of the Normandy. Maybe falling down the stairs and breaking his neck.

_ Keelah, I think I have been watching too many science-fiction movies._

"Hey, hey now, if you don't want to know when I will die a second time, then we won't ask her. By the way, she could be bull-shitting the whole thing for all we know."

"She was right the first time though, isn't that odd?"

"She _is_ an odd person."

She thought about it for a second. Maybe he is right. Maybe he just wants to resolve this little ordeal before the war and get to the bottom of this mystery that might be an endless pit, or have a bottom.

Shepard said, "Maybe her little building isn't there anymore. Maybe she drove herself insane and saw_ her_ future death. Maybe she jumped off a cliff dressed as a horse like she foresaw."

Tali didn't know why she laughed at that. There was this hatred towards this woman of whom she never met before that has come from nothing. Maybe Shepard died the first time because of her, this woman who sees the future. Maybe he knew it was his time to go and he let it happen on the SR-1 Normandy. They passed several neighborhoods off the mountain and a couple of mansions. The sides of the mountain were lightly wooded with those trees Shepard said coconuts grew off of earlier in the day. The city was still off to her right.

"Here it is, I think," Shepard said.

On the very top of the hill sat a small wooden house - a house that looked like it was plucked from a model train diorama. Tali squinted. A single street light washed the house with honeyed yellow light. This little hut was painted fire engine red with a big white door and white window frames. It looked like a blocky face staring at them - a face that was swathed red in embarrassment with a soot hat atop its head. Wisps of smoke gracefully bound from the brick chimney like dancers dressed in flowing white garb disappearing onto a black frozen lake in the dead of night. Tali pulled the Corvette up towards the building. She found no parking lot but a strip of grass in its stead. The car coughed and lurched forward as she slowed, then died.

"_Bosh'tet!"_

"You stalled it Tali."

"Thanks Commander Obvious!"

She threw her hands in the air out of frustration, suddenly realizing she owed Shepard a kiss. Well hey, at least it was worth getting sick for. Speaking of which, she loaded herself up with medicine before leaving the Normandy hours earlier out of habit. So, it should just knock Tali on her ass for no more than a day. Her immune system was gathering strength - growing stronger and stronger day by day. She just _knew _that her immune system was one of the strongest out there, in competition with other quarians living off the fleet with loved ones of different races.

"I _will _get that kiss later, right?"

"Yeah, I have to. I honor my word."

"Did you... take your medicine, Tali?"

"A-yup!"

"Good. Now, let's see what is up with the fortune teller."

Tali climbed out of the car and pressed the door shut. The sound of the metal latched hooking around the bracket made her shiver. The feel of grass under her suited foot felt nice and the sound of the wind running their fingers through the tree's hair was alluring, soothing and comforting. One day, she hopes to open a window on her house and hear that noise every day. It is one of her favorite noises, only tied with the sound of a belly laugh.

"Well damn!"

Shepard's raised voice startled Tali. She clasped his hand.

"What _ees _it?"

"She is closed." He pointed at a paper sign behind the front window and both stared at the store hours, mouths slightly parted.

"Well, it looks like we missed her an hour ago. Time to go home!"

Tali yanked on Shepard's hand and started to drag him back towards the car.

"But... I had this _feeling._"

"You are hungry, Shepard," she spat nervously, seeing his eyes go all wide and dreamy.

"I just ate, Tali."

"Just nerves, then."

"Who made you a doctor?"

"I did," she snorted, nervously laughing.

A light flickered on inside the house, spilled across the darkened grass and splattered both their feet and backs. Tali spun around when she heard the door open.

"Hello?" A black silhouette stood at the door. It looked weak and decrepit, mimicking the woman's voice who asked the question - it was frail and about to shatter, like a thinly spun glass ornament.

"Ma'am?" called out Shepard, standing his ground, yanking Tali to a halt, planted like one of those old trees in Grandma and Grandpa's backyard.

"_Arhuuf,_" Tali gasped at Shepard's strength and dead weight.

"Yes, I am a ma'am," the woman called out. The dark mass shifted uncomfortable. "If you are a couple of those damn kids that have been water ballooning my work over the past couple of days, come at me. I can kick all of your asses. I have more important business. I am expecting someone!"

"Expecting... someone?" asked Shepard.

"Yes! So, get off my property before I blast a hole in your fat face because I don't call the police!"

"Ma'am," Shepard extended a hand to her and approached. "I think I am the one you have been waiting for."

The woman's head disappeared into her shoulders. Tali tried to make out details of the woman, but failed. She was just an oily spot in a brightly lit doorway.

"Shepard, is that you?"

Tali's heart slammed into her throat and her vision flashed white in panic. She was waiting for him? On this very night? Suddenly, feeling light headed, she gripped Shepard's shoulder as a crutch.

"Shepa-"

"Tali!"

Blackness constricted the sides of her vision and she felt herself fighting for air. On her back, she peered at the doorway and saw the black mass approaching, then Shepard's face filled up her sight. She playfully tugged on his lip for some reason then everything shot immediately black.

_"ali, Tali, ake up!"_

_ "Does she do this a lot?"_

_ "Never has she feinted on me."_

_ "Is she pregnant?"_

_ "What?"_

_ "Is. She. Pregnant? You have shit in your ears kid?"_

_ "No, not a chance, unless she had relations with a quarian I don't know about."_

_ "Ah, well I used to feint when pregnant. I used to eat lots of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches back then. That is my daughter's favorite food, now. I also had lots of popsicles, you know, the summer heat and a baby inside of me. That was brutal hot. I took a hatred towards lamp switches and dogs that summer. I used to shoot them with a slingshot, right in their face. I was a good shot, you know."_

_ "Do you mind?"_

_ "Ah, here, let me get her up."_

Knuckles rapped against her mask and Tali's eyes shot open.

"Hey sweetheart, you awake in 'dat fishbowl of yours?"

Tali could hear a woman's voice. It was so gravely, she thought her eardrums were being sandblasted.

"Where are 'da little fishies. Ah, there they are!" Tali's eyes opened. "Wow, I didn't know their eyes were that bright. Is that normal? I have never seen one of these in person, you know."

"My. Name... is Tali!"

"What a beautiful name! It sounds like a toilet paper brand to me," the woman said. Through her hazy eyes, Tali noticed Shepard shoot her a dirty look. "Don't make me poke out your eyes, you are going to be needing them soon."

"Don't make fun of Tali, then."

Tali got off her back and shook her head. Both the woman and Shepard stared each other down. Without warning, the woman laughed - throwing her head back. Tali got a good look at the woman for the first time. She was an older woman, about Grandma's age, but not as nicely kempt as Shepard's grandma. Her gray hair was loose but tied into dreadlocks that nearly touched the small of her back. Tali flinched, noticing her skin that looked like the leather in the Corvette, but was chocolate brown, conditioned by the sun. As she laughed, Tali could hear every single cigarette she smoked.

"Are you okay, kid?"

"Me?" Tali asked.

"No, the carpet you are sitting on."

This woman reminded Tali of Ashley Williams, kind of a smartass.

"Yeah, I think so. I have never done that before."

Shepard helped Tali to her feet. She scanned her surroundings in order to get a hold on reality, since hers was shattered by the fortuneteller announcing Shepard's arrival. Everything Tali believed in, science, math, and facts just snap froze and detonated into billions of itsy bitsy pieces. The walls inside of the hut were butterscotch and lined with cages. Upon further investigation, the cages, at least two dozen of them, where filled with birds, colorful ones. In the center of the room was a circular table. Tali expected to see some sort of cards, a magic ball with stars sparkling inside of it and some old bones, maybe some old teeth as well and a cup to shake them in so she can throw them onto a map of the universe and predict the future.

"Are you on a period? Menstruating, maybe?"

"What kind of a question is that?" Tali gasped.

"That happened to me when my girl problems acted up all those years ago. Got lighted headed, you know?"

Tali blushed and looked away. The woman grabbed Shepard's cheeks and pinched them. He stood there awkwardly, glancing at Tali.

"You need to eat more, kid. Fatten up some. You look a little gaunt. Somethin' buggin' you?"

"Well-"

The woman pressed a ringed finger to his lips.

"You are wondering why and how I knew you were coming to me tonight, right?"

"Yeah."

_Even I knew what Shepard was going to ask. Maybe she is a fake after all._

A bird in one of the cages murmured something.

"Hey T.P, I am not a fake."

Tali recoiled.

"You..."

"I can read your thoughts, yes."

Her bright blue eyes arced with electricity. A wild laugh escaped her mouth and Tali squealed.

"Don't worry, T.P, I won't read anymore unless you piss me off."

"Stop calling me that," shouted Tali.

"Calling you what?"

"T.P. Whatever that means..."

"No, you are going to be called Toilet Paper."

"I am Tali-"

"Zorah vas Normandy, or Neema, whatever you go by, I don't care," said the woman.

The same bird murmured to the woman again. She clicked at the parrot and it went silent.

"My name, however, is-"

"Que," said Shepard.

"Good memory." Her drawn on eye brows furrowed. "You were so drunk that night you and your friends visited me I thought you wouldn't remember my name."

"Well, I was stupid back then, but not incompetent," he said.

"Who wants tea? Anyone?"

Que looked at Tali and pointed at her with a finger that was crooked with arthritis. Tali, mesmerized by the fleshy hook, shook her head no.

"I specialize in herbs, medicine and tea. I will cook you two up somethin' special." With that, Que slapped Shepard's butt, winked at him, and walked through a beaded doorway and into another realm... or her kitchen.

"Okay," Tali whispered, "I am officially scared."

"I don't remember her being this bad," he stated, peering around the room.

"You shouldn't remember much after that night. You had a big penis drawn on your forehead when you walked in here. Those friends of your really had a sense of humor, didn't they?" Que yelled from the kitchen. Shepard cocked his head and his face went aflame.

"She has superhuman hearing," Tali whispered even lower. "Not even my helmet could pick that up."

One of the parrots chirped and screamed out what Tali just said in its creepy robotic voice that is natural of parrots. "_Que has superhuman hearing!_"

"_Shhhhh!"_

Tali swatted at the big green beast in the cage.

"_Toilet Paper Fishbowl Head. You have a fishbowl head. Why aren't you drowning?"_ it asked, bobbing its head, taunting Tali. Que laughed from the kitchen and something shattered. She cursed in the back, speaking Portuguese. At least that is what Tali's HUD read out.

"Hey!" Shepard pointed at the bird, trying to think of something to say in order to defend Tali against... this feathered bully. "Stop... talking you."

"_Stop talking!"_ it screamed back. "_Keep your erection under control_."

"What?"

Tali died laughing and looked at Shepard's pants. There was no hint of one.

"_Commander Shepard. Row row your boat!"_

"Why do you teach your birds to say these things?" asked Shepard to Que who was rummaging in the back. "It is bad for business, you know, to insult and embarrass your customers." Shepard casually placed his hands over his pant's zipper. The bird laughed even harder.

"I don't teach them anything," she said reappearing from the back with two mugs of tea and a syringe Tali immediately recognized as a quarian water pack. "Here you dolls go. Sorry for the scare, T.P." Tali looked at the pack and rubbed her head. "It should melt away your headache and is safe to drink. I have a license, you know, to sell dextro-herbal medicine, so don't give me that look like I am not trustworthy or I will sneeze on you."

Tali didn't know what to make of this woman named Que. A big friendly smile materialized on her face and forced Tali to smile back at Que, her teeth reminded her of a row of yellow sweet corn Gardner managed to get his hands on one time. She just couldn't win against Que and her flock of birds. Shepard, who was still traumatized, grabbed the cup and sat on a chair that circled the table; Tali followed.

"I sense some serious questions about to be hurdled towards me," said Que.

Shepard smelled his tea and took a sip and subtly raised his cup, "Good. Now, how did you know?"

"That is like asking me to explain what the color red looks like to someone born blind."

"Hey T.P?"

"Yeah, Que?"

_She is insulting you yet you act friendly! Stick up for yourself, be snarky back!_

"Have you ever held a parrot before?"

Tali turned around to look at all of the cages. Through the low light, half of them were sleeping, their heads stuffed in the tufts of feathers of their backs and one leg enveloped in their skirt of feathers. Birds of other planets didn't even compare to the ones Tali laid eyes on in here. Their colors were not of woodland patterns but bright and candied, glazed in the melted colors of the tropics. Que stood up and took the parrot that embarrassed Shepard out of the cage. The others gave Que a look of jealousy from the darkened corners of their cages.

"This is Mango. Say hello to Toilet Paper, Mango."

"_Hello bucket head. What wrong with your shins? Broken legs, bad doctor._"

The little bastard then waved its four fingered foot at Tali and kept it raised. Off of pure intuition, Tali held her finger out to the little shit and was utterly shocked by its gripping strength. Its black pupil was ringed in a halo of bright yellow, a beautiful iris color, Tali thought. The parrot's gray head and silver cheeks stopped midway down the neck and the feathers went to the most spectacular green and each of them were rimmed in black. The little bastard wore a tuxedo of yellow and orange feathers and its short two inch tail was jet black with highlights of green. The ten inch parrot craned its neck out towards Tali's mask. She stared at its eyes as his pupils grew small and looked like a sunspot. His broad beak clicked happily, then he scratched his head with vigor by means of his left foot.

"Mango likes you," said Que.

"Hey there, Bosh'tet."

"_Hello, it will happen."_

"What will happen?"

"_The crest in the rollercoaster. Click click click all the way to the top. The last and biggest crest. Release. Clutch. Scream."_

"He speaks in riddles, all of them speak in riddles. Very rarely do they tell you directly," said Que. Shepard's lips were slightly parted through a faint smile - enthralled by Tali's interaction with this parrot she has named Bosh'tet, ignoring its birth name. "He really makes you think."

"I don't think I will be riding any... what did he call it, a 'rollercoaster?' Well I don't think I will ride that anytime soon."

"So... do your parrots tell the future? Is that your trick?" asked Shepard from over his mug, avoiding the chips in the rim where lipstick have stained the rough and bare ceramic.

"When I was a kid back on Earth, in this country called Brazil, I had a parrot. Her name was Tika, a Military Macaw." She motioned her cup of tea towards Bosh'tet. "Much bigger than that one - all green with a red band of feathers across his forehead. Best damn bird I have ever owned. That is when it all started - when I was a little girl. I flew a helicopter during the wars on Earth. Tika was on my shoulder through all of those battles I went through. She took some shrapnel but _nope!_ Supersonic splinters of tungsten didn't kill Tika, just took out one of her eyes and a chunk of her chest."

"What war did you fight in," Shepard asked.

"The Brazilian Revolution seventy years ago."

"How old_ are _you?" asked Tali.

"Just to let you know, that is a rude question to ask to a human," said Que.

"Your problem is...?"

"Ha! That is like asking what you guys look like under the mask, if you are pretty or not."

"Hey, do you want to see my face?"

"What?"

Tali reached up to her face, acting like she was about to pull off her mask.

"Hey hey hey hey, _no! _Don't do that!" she screamed, standing up, "I don't want you dying on my floor and then getting me arrested for murder!"

Tali snorted and pointed at her. Bosh'tet joined in the laughter.

"I should have spit in your tea, you little tease! I am eighty-five. Ain't that a shocker?"

"You were a helicopter pilot at the age of fifteen?" asked Shepard.

Que looked at Shepard over her tea cup and spoke through the mask of steam, "I fought on the ground first. Threw rocks at tanks and government agents, then I killed my first person by the age of fifteen. My family of seven lived in a single house about the size of 'dis room. My brother posted an extranet vid against a person in power - some government dipshit. Later that night, after he uploaded that vid, _bang!_" Tali jumped. "Two armed men in masks came in our house. I ran a rusty blade across one of their necks and we overpowered the second one - our town strung him up by the ankles, castrated him and stuffed tar down his throat. Later that day, they carpet bombed our town once they found out what happened to their two agents. Everyone I ever knew and loved died."

Tali began drinking her tea. She trusted Que with her life. It was odd. She barely even knew this woman, yet she felt like Que has been her friend for decades after about five minutes of talking with her - listening to her voice and curse words. There was something about her laugh, her voice, and that smile which just put her into a better mood, yet all this woman has done to them was taunt and nag - making them feel uncomfortable in the best possible way.

"So, I became a helicopter pilot after that, after we won the revolution. The whole world went up into flames, fighting against their oppressive governments, against their congress' that couldn't decide on shit. We advanced our race as a whole and I am proud to have taken part in 'dat. Anyways, about my parrot, Tika. The Brazilian military - once it was cleared of shitheads - gave her a medal. She was a brave little bitch. Then, one day, we got hit by a Surface to Air Missile. Tika wasn't too lucky there. My cockpit was full of floating feathers and her guts. A fist sized chunk of my engine ricocheted off my ceramic helmet and punched her. I was a downed pilot in the middle of the jungle, caught by the enemy, and tortured."

Tali thought she saw a tear in her left eye, flinching at the word 'tortured.' She thought of Feron, Liara's friend and then Grandma. Que brushed that spot as soon as Tali spotted it. Que stuffed a hand down her shirt collar and yanked out a necklace. A bird beak dangled at the bottom.

"This is Tika's beak. Go on touch it, Toilet Paper. It won't bite 'ya!"

"No thanks, I am fine with my alive bird."

Tali stroked Bosh'tet who purred like a cat and inflated, his feathers prickling like quills.

"I pulled her beak out of my neck once I got rescued. The doctor found it interesting that there was a bird beak stuck into my neck and made a hole in my trachea. He said that Tika's beak kept me alive through some of the torturing I went through; strangulation and all that. I am lucky the infection didn't kill me, ha!" Que bit her fingernail and spit a crescent shaped piece of hardened human growth out of her mouth. It narrowly missed Shepard's cup of tea. "Now, back to answering your question, Commander."

"These birds tell you the future, am I right?" he asked.

"Tika used to tell me things when I was a kid, then they would come true. She foresaw the carpet bomb. '_Heavy clouds and baptism by fire, freckled with lead._' That is how she warned me. I didn't make sense of it back then. Life is a shit sandwich, eh? I just have a skill of deciphering what they say and have these feelings, you know?"

"No, I don't know," said Tali, allowing Bosh'tet onto her shoulder. The parrot banged its beak against her mask and climbed into her hood, poked its head out on the other side and picked at the marring on Tali's metal cheek pieces.

"Mango likes ya'!"

"_In and out in and out,_" Bosh'tet whispered. His voice was eerie as it siphoned through her mask. He bobbed his head back and forth.

"You're a cute little guy, aren't you!" Tali was thoroughly enjoying the parrot's company and future telling that made no sense. Maybe he was foretelling Que trying to put her socks on day after day or Bosh'tet being taken out of his cage and being put back into his cage day after day. Speaking of socks, Tali peered down at her feet and noticed Grandma's white socks slapped over her feet.

"Keelah I am an _eediot!_"

"I was going to ask you about your socks, Toilet Paper, but Mango told me you forgot to take them off. Not sure why you have them on in the first place. They are kinky."

Shepard howled and splashed some tea on his shirt. He coughed then cursed under his breath. Que's contagious laugh spread into the belly of Tali and Shepard, clutching her laughing organ - if that exists - and shook it as hard as she could. Her stupid psychic powers cleaved into her soul and even made Bosh'tet crack a creepy satanic chuckle.

"Now, Commander, you came here to ask a specific question if I am not mistaken." Her fingers weaved together. "Was your first death painful?"

"If you consider suffocation, third degree burns not painful, then slamming into an icy planet at around 120 miles an hour not painful, no, it was not."

Que became suddenly serious.

"I felt something special when you walked into my room, with that big dick drawn across your forehead and down your cheek. I saw your aura."

"My aura?"

Que got up from her seat and paced the room, poking a finger through one of the cages to pet one of the parrot's heads.

"Yes. You had a halo of flame and a white glow, like a cape. You can figure out the symbolism for yourself."

"What about my second death?"

Tali's stomach did a somersault and a lance of fire impacted the side of her head.

"No, Shepard, I don't want to hear it!"

His eyes were obsessed and shimmered like the air above hot tarmac. He downed the rest of his tea and held Tali's hand.

"Knowing your future is dangerous," warned Que, shadows from the cage bars streaking across her face. Those bright eyes of hers - those two black disks wreathed in blue - flickered a sign of caution. "Think of pinching a match, a burning match over a bathtub of gasoline - smoking a cigarette in bed and falling asleep - murdering some man's wife and handing her husband a loaded gun. _That _is what know your future is like."

"Shepard, no..."

His fist curled into a ball and he carefully, yet shakily, set his cup down.

"I want to know the outcome of," he looked at Tali, "the you-know-what."

"The Reaper invasion? Don't talk to me like I am a child, you two." Que crossed her arms. "I know what is coming. I knew before any of you. Five years ago Mango began talking about it."

"And you did nothing?" Shepard said, containing anger.

"What could I do? What can a single person do nowadays against the masses?"

"I hope to prove everyone that one single person can change the masses. Think of a virus. One single cell in a human body can cripple it and even kill it. Sure, it replicates itself, but it starts with one, single, eukaryotic cell. I plan on being that one cell that will take down the Reapers."

"Words of wisdom. You are smarter than you look, Commander."

"Thanks," he said flustered.

"I really don't think we should know how you... die a second time, Commander. I don't think _you _want to know."

"I still have the piece of paper from that night."

Shepard raised an eyebrow, curious. "A piece of paper?"

"I wrote down what Mango, that bird right there, said about your two deaths. I knew you were coming back on this very day those eleven years ago. I have been waiting for you." She pinched a yellowed roll of paper between her brown fingers like a cigarette, twirling it. "It is yours, if you want it."

"Don't Take it, Shepard, please listen to me," pleaded Tali. "I don't want to know when or how you die."

Shepard reached out to take the roll of paper - this pipe bomb - but his fingers brushed against it, thinking about what to do. Que's face was emotionless. She knew the answer - deciphered the riddle Bosh'tet murmured all those years ago when Shepard walked into this very shop.

"_Take the key. Use heed, Mother will know what to do,_" said Bosh'tet.

Shepard stared at the parrot's head poking out of Tali's hood. He could see Tali's eyes, like white hot splinters, carefully analyzing his every move. With a swipe, Shepard took the scroll and jammed it into his pocket, ashamed. Tali sighed.

"I will just keep it in case. Read it or destroy it, the choice is mine."

"_The choice is Mother's,_" murmured Bosh'tet yet again.

"Well, I think we have outstayed our welcome," said Shepard, standing from his chair. Tali followed suit and grabbed the parrot from her hood. Its legs were outstretched towards Tali's chest, wanting to grab onto something solid instead of being clasped. Its little toes curled and uncurled but its face stared right into Tali's, both yellow eyes trained onto her white ones.

"Thanks for letting me hold your parrot, Que."

"Not a problem, Plexiglas."

"_Perfect friction,_" he said, his beak barely moving.

"See you later you little freak of nature!"

Mango bobbed his head, dilated his egg yolk eyes and waved goodbye with his trembling left foot. The other birds in the room were almost all asleep but some cautiously eyed Tali, curious as to what she was.

"Stay safe, Que. Run if you have to or fight back," said Shepard with a hand in his pocket, fondling the key to his future.

"You know I will be fighting those things. You might see me again, unless you die falling down the stairs tomorrow morning. Won't you regret not reading the riddle on that piece of paper if that is how you die?"

"I plan on not going like that." He looked at his feet carefully, like they were loaded guns. "You know, now that you said that, I will be gripping railings for the rest of my life thanks to you."

Que laughed and said, "Breaking your neck or not, dying is shitty."

"Well hey, life is a shit sandwich. You have to take it as it comes."

"You two have fun tonight."

"We will," both Tali and Shepard said in unison. Que winked and closed the door behind them. Through the walls of the building, they could hear her signing an old song.

"Remember that surprise I promised you?"

Tali made two fists, placed them on her hourglass hips, and yelled, "You mean _that _wasn't it?"

"Come here." He snaked his arm around her waist and lead her to the edge of the mountain, the side without the jeweled city in the background. Beyond them was miles and miles of woodlands hundreds of feet below which rose into snow tipped mountains that were easily fifty-thousand feet high, miles off in the distance. The sheer mass and size of them made Tali stagger and loose her breath. They were so big, they _frightened _her.

"Keelah those are massive!"

"They are prime sport for mountain climbers. People from all over come and try to climb that beast." Million year old light from stars of old gently stroked the tip of the mountain with cold pastel colors. Then, something caught Tali's eye. In the woods, there were flashes of sapphire blue light, like flak silently detonating right below the tree's canopies. Tali waited to hear the sound of explosions and braced herself for the concussive blast but nothing came. No sound. No overpressure. No shrapnel. Nothing.

"What are those flashes?" she asked.

"That is one question in the galaxy that remains a mystery. Beautiful, isn't it?"

"Freaky is more like it."

Tali approached the cliff carefully.

"We call them Forest Nymphs." Tali looked at Shepard. "Cheesy, right? But hey, that is what stuck. Sometimes biologist find the forest floor burnt in the mornings and that is when it is cold outside."

"Could it be the trees? Remember, the trees on Illium glowed." Fond memories of Diamond Cove swelled in her mind's eye. It was a creation of good memories that shore leave, one of, if not the best moments of her life. "Remember, Shepard?"

Tali turned around and noticed he was holding the piece of paper in his hands, ready to unroll it.

"For the last time, I would not suggest you do that," said Tali, placing two hands over his, cupping the riddle. "Please, for me." His eyes came into contact with hers. Tali traced a finger over his lips, then blew a kiss to him. He smiled, the right part of his mouth softly cocking up and walked to the ledge of the cliff. A gust of wind -_Mother_ nature's breath - swept over the top of the mountain. With his right hand, Shepard lifted the note into the air and released it, letting the wind carry it into the valley below. The note haphazardly fluttered in the current and the ribbon that was Shepard's future disappeared into the darkness below. There was a sense of angst that melted like a sugar cube dissolved by hot water in Tali's chest. Her knees felt wobbly again, but she held her ground, only to be swept up by Shepard.

"I am free!" He shouted again, "I am free!"

His voice echoed in the valley. Suddenly, the blue flashes in the woods picked up their pace at the sound of Shepard's voice.

"It seems you have some nymph groupies down there, Shepard."

"I do."

"I am proud you let that go. I am _so _proud."

"I figured it is best I do not know. I have seen too many science-fiction movies to know better. But that parrot said to look but..."

"Shepard, that is a _bird_!"

Tali found herself in the passenger seat of the Corvette, dreamily staring at Shepard who drove into the dark of night, back home where they belonged. Keelah, she was proud of him, so damn proud. A colossal smile painted her lips beneath the helmet, one she wished Shepard could see at this very moment. Something was off with her, she felt kind of weak and flushed - hot is the word she wanted to use. Her environmental suit always kept her cool - it was odd to find herself like this. The insides of her thighs trembled. She leaned her head into the crook of Shepard's neck, wishing she could feel his skin.

"Are you okay, Tali?"

"More than okay."

"Are you... feeling funny?"

"Are you?" she asked, her voice sharpening.

"I feel odd, in the best way possible, though."

"I think Que used some sort of supersonic microwaves from her eyes and melted part of my brain that cares about... stuff."

He yawned but spoke through it, "Did you drink the tea she gave us?"

"Yup," she said, not caring.

"I think she poisoned us."

"Well I want some more of that poison, it feels good."

Tali closed her eyes and felt her lower stomach give off heat. The tea warmed her on the inside and cuddled with her guts. The hum of the V8 engine purred and Tali imagined she was riding a giant cat that was bounding across a savannah of asphalt. She could feel a pack of its muscles shifting under its fur as they darted into the dark, not turning back - going into oblivion. The car turned and Shepard changed gear, then stopped.

"We're home."

"That felt fast. Was I sleeping?"

"Your mouth piece was lighting up and I heard a soft snore."

"I snored?" she almost yelled.

"That was the first time I have ever heard you before. Don't worry, it was cute."

"Am I sexy when I sleep?"

Tali had no idea where that question came from. At the moment, she just didn't care. The question caught Shepard off guard. Clearly, whatever was going through her veins was different than what was shooting through Shepard's.

"Yes you are. Come on, let's get inside. There is a nice couch in the television room. Really comfortable. We can sleep on that if you want to, maybe pass out to a movie."

"That sounds nice," she whispered. Tali got out of the car and shut the door. It didn't have the same appeal as it had before. Right now, Shepard was her main attraction. Tali strutted towards her commander - her captain - giggling. He raised an eyebrow.

"Let me help you inside," he said, somewhat concerned.

"I am fine," she swatted away his hand. "Don't help a woman when she doesn't need help." Her words almost slurred together into one massive incoherent word. There was a note on the front door written in Grandma's beautiful cursive. Tali's eyes traced the loops and swirls and curves.

_The front door is unlocked you two. We both went to bed, _

_ exhausted after your visit and about the stuff you told us, _

_ both Tali's story and about the Reapers. I put Tali's clothes_

_ in your old bedroom Shepard and turned on the air filters. No_

_ one has been in there since you left it eleven years ago, so I _

_ think there might be some of that old pollen in there. Sleep tight _

_ both of you and sweet dreams. Please lock the front door when_

_ you come in and tip-toe. I am a light sleeper._

_ XOXOXOXO,_

_ Grandma._

_ P.S.- Breakfast is at seven-o-clock sharp. Don't make me pull _

_ you both out of bed! Bacon, pancakes and eggs are on the menu._

"So... I get to see Commander Shepard's bedroom and all of your personal teenage items?"

"It looks like it. This should bring back some memories. Good and bad."

"Bad?"

"Going through puberty with your all-too-aware Grandparents was a living hell."

Shepard cracked open the front door and Tali took off her dirty socks, throwing them into the shoe pile that bordered the door, next to the coat closet. The house hummed, ventilating cold air and cooling the two story open floor plan after a warm and muggy afternoon. It felt like home to Tali and not like she was trespassing. The smell of the cinnamon candle lingered, yet wasn't as potent as before, so it didn't bring back bad memories. It was the smell of one of Shepard's homes - a sanctuary of sanity, a bastion of hope. He led Tali through the house, gripping her hand gently, acting like a pathfinder through the dark - shadows cast only by the stars outside and the burning of digital lettering on kitchen equipment. Tali wished she could feel the cool kiss of the tile floor on the bottoms of her feet. It must feel good during the summer time after getting done with a game of soccer. The lips of cold pressing against the heat of sweaty skin. They took a left down a hallway coated with windows and there was a door at the end, Shepard's door. The way both of them slipped down the hallway was in a military fashion. Fighting and CQB tactics still persuaded the way they moved even when not in danger, yet the Reapers were out there - cleaving towards the galaxy in order to find the man who clasped her hand and led her down a hallway to his bedroom in which his Grandparents built for him. He seemed not at all a threat - still just a kid on the inside. Shepard placed a hand on the aluminum door knob and twisted. It creaked open and the humming noise was a bit louder. Not disturbing, but sounded like the Normandy during Tali's nightly walks on deck.

It _whirred_. That was the word she was looking for.

"Here we are," he whispered and flicked on a light. The scintillating beams burned her pupils but her mask polarized until the eyes got used to the caustic light. Tali shut the door behind them and it hissed, then popped. It was airtight. The room was a very good size, large enough for her old home on the Rayya to fit into. A bathroom was to her immediate left and Shepard's bed was directly in front of them, the foot of it about seven feet away. The blankets were still slightly messy from his last visit eleven years ago. Tali smiled when she saw glow-in-the-dark spaceships and stars imprinted on the comforter. It was one of the cutest things she has seen in a good while. The ceiling had a massive skylight window punched through the center with a band of light running around the perimeter which illuminated the room. The window was dome shaped with a ladder leading into a loft above the bed and _into _the dome. Tali could see a telescope pointing right up into the sky next to a small stool.

"They really spoiled you, didn't they?" asked Tali.

"Yeah. I had the smallest room in my old 'houses' since I lived on space stations my whole life. I was blown away when they built this for me. Anyways, I am going to take a shower really fast. I feel I need to wash away my old self since the new and imporved Commander Shepard has taken over. Feel free to poke around, I might be a while - not sure how fast the water is going to warm up or if the showerhead is going to spout brown rusty water..."

"Take your time, Shepard," Tali said curiously, not really paying attention to him but rather her surroundings.

"Right, I have got to see if any of my old clothes fit me. I kind of gotten bigger since the old days."

"Yup."

"You are not really listening to me, are you?"

"Yup."

"Okay."

Shepard walked towards the bathroom and to Tali's surprise, set a pistol on his desk. It was a stark realization that they had enemies out there wanting to kill them. Tali has been ignorant all day about the fact. Not to dwell on those thoughts, but if a bullet from a sniper passes into this room and pegs her in the head, that is that. Now is not the time to worry about such things. She eyed the desk the pistol was on. A computer was turned off in the corner, probably filled with outdated tech. Next to that were a stack of video games and some old school papers. She fingered through them and noticed good grades on all of them, even some comments his old teachers wrote.

_Great job! Your use of metaphors and sentence structure proves eloquence and an eye for detail. Work on those comma splices, though. You are almost doing perfect! _

Tali couldn't help but grin and search elsewhere for clues about his past. In the corner next to his desk was an air rifle and a can of metal ammunition. Curious, Tali picked it up. It was a full sized antique looking rifle with a wooden stock and optics, coupled with a beautiful wood grain the color of Que's skin. Fiber optic sights backed up the glass optics. They were not digital optics like on the weapons of today. She looked through it and saw a simple crosshair with mil-dots sporting windage and elevation. Very rudimentary yet effective. She will admit, even though she is a girl, Tali thinks guns are pretty damn cool. They are fun to shoot and are works of mechanical art - the respect she wields for them are vast. Tali could hear the shower cough to life and Shepard yell in disgust.

"The water is reddish-brown, Tali. This might take a bit."

"You are fine, don't worry about me."

"Sweet girl," she heard him whisper.

Tali's heart began to race for some reason as she walked past the bed. The blankets were so adorable. She imagined little Shepard pulling them snug under his chin after a fun day with his friends outside playing together. Her hand rested on his single giant pillow where his head used to lay wishing she had a child to tuck into bed at night and read books to while he or she fell asleep. A couple years ago, the thought of a child would have scared the living Keelah out of her but now having a little face running around would be delightful. Tali suddenly wished she could get pregnant with Shepard, have part of him, his legacy, brewing inside of her. Again, the insides of her thighs trembled, thinking of lovemaking. She sat on the bed and found the clothes Grandma gave her under the blankets, concealed from sight. She plucked at them, wishing she could get undressed and wear them, just for tonight, just for Shepard. Instead, she hugged them and walked to the sliding door that led to a miniature patio outside. She looked outside, towards the city. It saddened her. Tali heard Shepard moan from the bathroom, obviously fed up with the rusty plumbing.

Suddenly, it hit her and Tali dropped her clothes on the slate tile floor. With her omni-tool, she scanned the air and bed sheets for contaminants. A white bar to the left of the holograph climbed to the top then blinked green. The amount of contaminants in this room was next to _nothing_. She could have open heart surgery and not even risk infection. With nothing living in here for eleven years in combination with the air filters, this was a clean room, a sterile room.

Tali twisted to look at the bathroom door then to the piled clothes on the floor. Tonight very well could be their last night together... alive, even. The Reapers could crash their party this very moment with orbital fire placing a multi-kiloton explosive nuclear device right through the dome. Tali could see steam percolating from the slit under the bathroom door, then stared back at the clothes. With two fingers, she picked up the pretty purple top and held it up to her chest and twirled. The garb flirtatiously flicked in the air, taunting her to put in on. Tali tossed it on the bed and bit her lower lip. She picked up the bottom part of the pajama set. They were normal pants, flared at the bottoms and ringed with golden thread. Tali saw a price tag hanging on the bottom. Grandma never wore these, for some reason. They must have gotten lost in her planet-sized closet, never to be found. Tali tossed the pants on the bed too, right next to the top - both dangled partly over the lip of the bed. She analyzed them, chewing on her tongue - a nervous habit. Again, she scanned the room with her omni-tool and the readout was way below normal.

It was safe to start undressing.

First, she wanted to take off the mask. She loves and _hates _it with a burning passion but she wanted to just rip it off first. Both hands carefully squeezed the points of disassembly and she pressed.

_Keelah my heart is pounding._

It hissed then popped. She felt her vision throbbing in harmony with her heart and she chuckled nervously for a moment as everything was not under a subtle purple haze, but light, real, bare, naked light that kissed her eyes. The room was slightly blurry as she wasn't used to her natural eyesight but she could see _more_ than well. The water tap-dancing off the shower floor sounded muddied, no, not muddied... but real and true. It wasn't as sharp as she was used to. It sounded _perfect. _Tali wrestled with the rest of her suit until she was stark naked, the way she came out of her mother on day one, the beginning of the Tali legacy. Shepard dropped a shampoo bottle in the shower - the bang scared her to death, but he resumed singing his jolly as all hell tune. Tali sucked her stomach in and crossed both arms around her chest. It felt really _really _weird like this. Everything was alien, foreign - the soft touch of cool air at the nape of her neck, the circulation around her thighs and the refreshing air swelling into her lungs. It was raw air, Nature's own breath. It was...

_Surreal._

Tali saw movement to her left and her frightened eyes swung in that direction, expecting to see Grandma standing in the doorway with a creepy smile on her face. No, it was just a reflection of herself - of her naked in a full sized mirror. It was the first time in about a decade she had seen herself, her _true _self, not the suited freak of a woman. Her curves were more pronounced and the shadows from soft light above carved into her skin. It made her look, what word was she looking for...

_Sexy._

Even though her back was hunched, protecting her chest with both arms and knees bent, Tali continued to stare at herself. She straitened her back and poked her chest out, both eyes tracing the line from her shoulder blades which then swooped inwards towards the small of her back and softly swelled at the perfect curvature of her buttocks. She locked eyes, stared into them and she smiled. Her lips were not like she remembered, they matured a bit. She agreed with herself that she had a friendly smile, nothing too sharp but not too soft, just... friendly. She plucked at the clothes, realizing she had wasted enough time admiring herself and fiddled with them.

_Does Shepard like the way I look?_

_ What if I am ugly?_

Tali looked down at herself, at her chest, at her stomach, and at her legs. She fondled her breast. It hurt but felt sexy. Absorbed, she watched her stomach - watched her breathing, observed her ribs as she sucked in and the packs of muscles slide under her skin when flexed. Once again, she shot a glance at the mirror and her form, once standing normally, looked like Grandma's cursive on the note. She curved naturally and looped in all the right places. That smile of hers, those lips and subtle dimples all resembled that handwriting. Confidence built up, she wrestled with the pretty top first, trying to cover up as fast as possible. She threw it over her head and it slipped against the tops of her shoulders like playful fingertips. She pulled the bottom down and miraculously, it fit pretty well. She looked in the mirror and spun forty-five degrees on her tiptoes, watching the bottom lip twirl and dance around her thin waist. Her breast were snug and she admired her cleavage, chest, collarbones, and the bit of shadowing in-between the muscles on her neck. Her confidence went through the roof. Thank Keelah that mirror was there, holding her hand through this process and telling her not fibs, rather the truth about how she looked.

The shower stopped clapping to Shepard's song as he began his solo through a whistle. The water seized to pour from the wall. He must be drying off.

She had to hurry.

Tali glared at the pants, at the waist more importantly. It did look a bit more slender than she was, especially with her wide hips. Carefully, trying not to tumble over, she inserted her left foot into the left side of the pants, shortly followed by her right, pulling the form fitting pants up her lanky legs. They fit snug against her thighs and buttocks, but loosened at her ankles.

"Keelah," she said through lips as thin as razors. Fear hit her. The pants didn't fit around her hips. Savagely, she pulled the pants up over her hips, the tight fabric scooping her skin at the belt line like a pin kneading dough. She played with the little strings protruding from two brass eye sockets in the pants, right where her lower torso and upper thighs made a crease in her skin. She untied those strings, pulled the bottom part of her top under her chin and with two thumbs, peeled the beltline away from her naked hips, the two strings disappeared in the sockets and the pants became dramatically looser, but still unable to get them fitting properly. Visibly gnawing on her tongue, she turned to the brutally truthful mirror, petrified she was gaining weight. Tali spun to the side so her curvy body was sideways and she sucked in her stomach so her ribs were protruding from her elastic skin.

Shepard coughed and began brushing his teeth.

Tali's gap in the window was closing and _fast._

No fat that she could see.

Good.

Distastefully, she stared back at her brass nemesis, whose icy lips were kissing her supple belly. Emptying her lungs, she sucked in her stomach and heard the most satisfying noise.

"_Twock!"_

The knotted ends of the strings disappeared through the brass eyes and into the elastic band on the pants. Her head snapped to the mirror, staring at the spoils of war which hugged her legs. If she had to say so herself, she looked mighty fine in Grandma's never before worn pants, which Tali had a sneaking suspicion Grandma bought for her when Shepard shared the news about their relationship, and maybe a visit. They hugged her recurve shins and thighs like vacuum wrap but the sight was aesthetically pleasing. They accented her quarian hips and backside. Not nervous anymore, she could breathe as the walls retreated, pressure released, and she thought she heard the mirror sigh in relief.

The sink in the bathroom stopped hissing and she could hear Shepard's footsteps and him clearing his throat. A cap to deodorant _popped _off in there and Tali could smell it. Swiftly, she tiptoed to the light switch and dimmed the bulbs, concealing herself in the shadows of the night. Still, her confidence was low. The slate floor was cool against her heels as she stood frozen by the light switch, unable to move as Shepard walked out of the bathroom with just a pair of sport shorts clinging the jagged muscles around his lower waist. Her skin became suddenly hot and Tali swore she could feel each chilled molecule of air brushing against her face, of which was surprised, eyebrows raised and mouth open. Her heart pounded and she could feel the muscle's power arc across her chest and back, undoubtedly making her top half bob.

"Tali?"

Shepard scanned the room through the low light for her, not bothering to check the door they entered, which is what she was standing next to, frozen and touching the light switch with a single outstretched finger. Finally, Shepard's eyes locked onto her mask, which sat poised on the bed. She saw all of his muscles flex and spin toward the doorway, both arms out in front of him like he was about to catch something that was hurdling towards him. Both of them locked eyes. Tali knew she must have look like a deer in front of a speeding car, but wearing sexy pajama pants.

"Hi there." The way she said it was like a kid who got caught with a hand in a cookie jar. It was utterly stupid sounding!

"Tali!"

"Yes, that's me."

Again, Tali felt like an imbecile. Without the mask, her English - which she was practicing - sounded not like her.

"What are you..."

"Yes."

"Huh?"

"I mean, well, I don't know what to say," she said. Shepard's mouth dangled open and his arms did not fall to their sides. His eyes were wide open as Tali spoke yet again, uttering more nonsense. "Life is a shit sandwich, am I right?"

"Gah-I, guess... so."

"So, do I look nice?"

She twirled for him, just like in those black-and-white human romance movies.

_I've always wanted to do that! _

Shepard didn't move, both arms still stretched out.

_Do something with those things, Shepard!_

Nothing happened, so Tali fell into his outstretched arms. A strand of her dark hair fell in front of her left eye, so she blew it away from her forehead, looked up into Shepard's shocked face and winked with the cutest smile she could muster.

"I couldn't leave you hanging like that," she said.

"Your suit... and your immune-"

Tali pressed a finger over his lips and felt whatever that tea had in it rush through her veins. She felt like she was the queen and nothing could stop her - she was the sexiest thing alive in this whole damn universe where confidence was abundant and surged through her like a mighty river. She could feel her smooth skin brush against his, her back press against his bare chest and his minty breath bat against her face and eyelashes.

"Commander, I took my medicine." Her voice tapered deeper at the end of the sentence. Her confidence took off like the Corvette in first gear. She wrapped a hand around the still shocked Commander's neck and brushed her lips against his, teasing him for a kiss. "I promised you that kiss, Commander." She could feel his lips smile and she backed her head away from his, making deep eye contact, teasing him. Tali climbed out of his arms and strutted backwards towards the sliding door. The herbs in that tea made Tali not herself, but rather the tease and hard to get lover she dreamed to be like wafter all of those women in those sappy romance movies humans loved to watch which Kasumi got Tali hooked onto. She studied each and every one of those moves, what the women did to woo the men, and listened to Kelly and Kasumi's advice. Maybe the tea had made her into what she really was.

The cold glass stung the top half of her exposed back, then turned warm from her body heat. She scratched at it with her hands and chewed her lower lip. She was cocky as all hell.

"Commander, I am waiting," she said, curling and uncurling her finger at him, teasing him. He walked over to her in great slow strides and he towered over her. She bent her head to look up at him, into his grinning face. With a finger, she wiped off the corner of his mouth and stared at the remnants of some toothpaste. She pressed it against his lips and he sucked it off her finger, gently grabbing her thin wrist.

"What has gotten into you?" he whispered.

"Que's poison wasn't actually poison," she whispered back.

"Your English is good, too. Who is this woman?"

"I am," she brushed her lips with his, then pulled away, smiling. "Tali'Zorah vas _Normandy_." Shepard's hands snaked around Tali's back and pulled her into him. Tali's balled up hands got caught between their chests by the sneak attack kiss. Tali squealed into his mouth, surprised, and kissed back, with passion, unloading all of her guns with the tips she had gotten by Kasumi about being a good kisser. Her arms rested on Shepard's shoulders, crossed behind his head and her hands locked together behind his skull. She was free from everything, free from the stupid Reapers and Shepard's second death. Tonight was their night and nothing was going to ruin it.

Tali jumped on him and wrapped her powerful legs around his waist, pressing her stomach into his chest. She looked down and used tongue this time. She laughed through his mouth and felt him carry her towards the bed. He freefell onto the mattress with Tali on top. Her mouth released from his and both of them laughed. Shepard's happy face looked right back into hers. No longer was she nervous about anything. He loved her for what she was, not her looks, not her performance, not anything except for her personality. She wanted to share the deepest parts of herself with him tonight.

"Hey there," she whispered, able to taste his toothpaste.

Shepard swiped a bang away from her forehead. "You taste sweet."

"Oh yeah?"

"Like candy. Soft, wet candy."

She bent over and brushed her nose against his, her lips against his eyes, and kissed again, this time more seriously. Shepard hands slipped under her top and skidded across her bare skin. His fingers were warm and friendly to the touch - she didn't flinch when he softly grabbed her breasts. It felt good. Tali gasped into his mouth and yanked off her top.

"That thing was just getting in the way," she laughed. Something hard brushed against her right butt cheek.

"Same with these," he said, tearing off his old sports pants. Tali lightly laughed.

"And... _these_." She motioned towards her pants which she struggled to get on in the first place. Shepard rolled her over and pinned her to the bed, still looking into her eyes as his fingers wrapped around the elastic band.

"Yeah?" he questioned softly, motioning to her purple pants.

She nodded and felt them slip off, the sheets now touching her bare bottom. Tali sighed and snort-laughed, nervous yet confident.

"You _looked_ great in those."

"I think," Shepard kissed her, cutting off what she was about to say. Both of his arms were on either side of her head radiating the smell of his deodorant. "They still had the tags on them."

"Uhu."

She felt Shepard's lips go from her mouth to her neck, not kissing, but lightly brushing them against her skin, moving down to her breasts. She gasped at the feel and closed her eyes, guessing where he was going to go next. Her stomach?

_ Keelah yes._

She felt him kiss the name _Tali _into her skin to the left and below her bellybutton. He grabbed her hand for comfort as she jerked.

"Ticklish Miss. Zorah?"

"Oh... oh yes."

She opened her eyes and watched Shepard's two fingers walk towards her face from the inside of her thigh. She got all tingly and her inner thighs jiggled in excitement. His two fingers traced her lip and went back behind her head in search of her other hand that lay on the pillow. He gripped it reassuringly, his eyes hopeful. Tali nodded, giving him permission. She felt him slowly, gingerly penetrate. Tali sucked in and closed her eyes.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Uuuhuuu."

He went deeper and Tali slowly wrapped both legs around his waist, letting him find his stride. He went slowly, tenderly, respecting Tali's body, rocking like he would with a sleeping newborn. So gently with no rush. She moaned when he hit a certain spot.

"Are you okay?" he whispered in her ear.

"Yessss, yesss, I-uh! I am."

"_Continue_?"

His minty breath mixed with the deodorant was enticing. She nodded her head and he continued, this time, Tali joined with his rocking. She could feel the power of him through his stiff muscles. She opened her eyes and watched him, looked at him, absorbed his appearance. Those muscles budged and perspiration freckled his forehead, as did Tali's.

"_Keelah."_

Tali lifted herself so she could be closer to Shepard and feel his skin rubbing against hers as he thrust. She too began to rock, trying to make him feel good as well.

"Is that good?" asked Shepard.

"Yes, right there. What about yo-you? Am I doing okay?"

"You are _wonderful_ my dear."

Tali thought about Que and her parrots as she squeezed Shepard's hands harder and harder. She thought about what Mango was saying, about his riddles.

"_In and out in and out."_

Tali almost laughed when it hit her. The little son-of-a-bitch knew they were going to make love tonight, he foresaw it.

"My turn," Tali said. Shepard still inside of her, she flipped him on his back, straddling him. Tali's hand slithered up and down Shepard's side feeling his skin slip though her fingers like a shawl of silk. His legs rubs against hers, the sensation causing her toes to curl with ecstasy as Tali's two hands worked their way to his shoulders. Both stared at each other, torrents of love _rippling_ through their eyes. Tali leaned over, slipped her lips into his, sensually kissing. His body heat washed over her like a warm blanket, radiating, his blood swirling inside him pushed by his fiercely beating heart. Tali could feel his pulse inside of her - it was exhilarating. Slowly, she dragged her lips out of his mouth, lightly tugging his lower lip. She brushed her lips against his cheek, working her way towards his ear. Her teeth nipped at his lobe sending heat sprawling across her suave skin like an ocean wave crashing into the shore then crawling its way up the beach. Breathing out, Tali's warm breath tickled and kissed his face as she grinned, releasing subtle laughter. She shifted on his lap, throwing sable shadows across the dimly lit room, kissing his neck and nibbling on his other ear gingerly, wetting it ever so slightly with the film of saliva on her teeth. She whispered sweet nothing into his ear. The new angle was nice and she got to use his chest as support. She grabbed him and rocked and twisted her hips. He closed his eyes and grunted, then opened them again, grabbing Tali's hand with his and kissed it. Tali rubbed deeper into him and deeper, wanting to be one with him, be _part _of him through means love making couldn't even achieve. Tali's face stopped smiling as they hit their stride, two people moving in harmony. She could feel her lower abdomen warming up and her energy began to drain, her hands releasing their hold slightly. Shepard noticed and flipped her back over. Tali hooked her ankles across his back as high as she could get them, then she found the perfect position, as did Shepard. Tali remembered something Mango said earlier.

"_The crest in the rollercoaster. Click click click all the way to the top. The last and biggest crest. Release. Clutch. Scream."_

Tali gasped and breathed, her body demanded oxygen so she fed her lungs the needed air through short and rapid sips.

"Hold it th-th-there, Sh-Shepard."

"Right here?"

"_Yes_."

Mango's voice came back into her head.

_"The perfect friction."_

She understood, put the pieces of the puzzle together. It was time Shepard had figured her out, where to press and where to get that _perfect friction_. Tali squeezed Shepard with her legs harder and harder but again, her strength was leaving her, being pulled by Shepard with each thrust.

"Squeeze my hand. Squeeze it when it is about to happen."

"Keelah, Keelah okay!"

Shepard was able to hold the perfect position and Tali felt her whole world spinning. A single tear rolled down her face - a tear of happiness created through perfection. Was it really about to happen? She was scared, yet totally ready for her big moment. She felt her breaths getting shorter and shorter - her abdomen warming up, getting hotter and hotter. Pinpricks of light appeared in Shepard's black pupils and her hands felt week, like she wouldn't be able to give the squeeze to Shepard when the time came... which was soon.

"Keelah, oh my... _oh, oh_!"

She felt every bit of him inside of her and her mouth opened to let out a yelp, but instead of using her energy on that, she jerked her hand and it happened. She went blind and fireworks detonated in the blackness - with each spasm came a new grand finale, but not as powerful or memorable as first. It reminded her of the explosions by the Forest Nymphs. Both Shepard and Tali bucked and gasped, then went limp, breathing heavily. Tali squeezed his hand lovingly, their slick palms made a sucking sound when they separated.

It happened.

Keelah it happened!

Tali could feel her orgasm dripping down her thigh and into the sheets. It was hot and sexy feeling.

"No, don't take it out," she commanded breathless. "Not yet." Shepard laid on top of her, both arms wrapped around her back and listened to her heart slow down with each beat. Tali rubbed his head, feeling his short velvety hair in her hands. It was the perfect moment in her life.

"Your heart sounds healthy," he whispered, his ear pressed between her breasts.

"Thanks."

There was a string of silence. The slow breathing that came out of his mouth tickled her nipple.

"What are you supposed to say after... you, _this_?" Tali asked.

"Nothing."

Tali's heel rubbed up and down the back of Shepard's calf as she stared up into the dome looking into the night sky. A comet streaked through the black, and disappeared. Tali opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out. That was _her _moment she felt, not to be shared with anyone. Tali saluted the sky.

"I think Que spiked our tea with rocket fuel." His deep voice vibrated through her chest.

"I'd say so."

Shepard leaned his chin on Tali's chest, watching her eyes glow in the low light.

"God you are beautiful."

The compliment struck her so hard she was knocked breathless. He leaned up to kiss her and she moaned since Shepard was still inside of her.

"Are you up for found two?" asked Tali.

Shepard's eyes went wide and though a devious grin - he nodded his head.

"Rocket fuel," Tali muttered.

"Three." Tali clutched Shepard's sides. "Two." Her legs wrapped around his ribs. "One." Tali closed her eyes and let him take off.

_We have lift off_, she thought.

She was the happiest damn girl in the galaxy.

Tali opened her eyes and through the hazy slits, she could see outside the sliding door and across the lake. The capital was waking up just like she was, to a new day. The sun's bright face has yet to greet the sky with his bright smile, but his pale blue mane began to warn everyone he was coming and expected Terra Nova's population to greet him as he arrived. Tali yanked the blankets over her head and spun 180 degrees to meet Shepard's face. His mouth was dangling open and the gravity of the planet tugged at his face, pulling it earth-side. She lightly kissed his mouth. It tasted sour.

"Good morning, Captain."

He smiled and shifted, pulling Tali closer. Both were still naked under the sheets and Tali could feel several wet spots on the sheets. She didn't care.

"Mornin' sunshine."

A single finger drew a line from her knee, to her thigh, around her buttocks, up her voluptuous sides, and circled her lips. Tali grabbed his hand and kissed it, then played with his veins. She quashed them and let them go, watching them inflate as blood rode though the organic highway and through morning rush hour. Tali didn't want to get back into the suit after this. It just gave her more motivation in having a life after the war.

"I am going to take a shower, want to join?"

"I'd love to but, uh... I think I might get sick. Contaminants in the water and all."

"You are _such _a killjoy, aren't you?" he softly nudged her chin with his face and grinned. He climbed out of bed and stretched. "The shower has a purifyer on it, just to let you know. The pollen and all..." Tali watched a pack of muscles shift under his skin then stared at his buttocks as he walked heavily towards the bathroom. Tali spun over with the blankets draped across her bare shoulders so she could stare out the window. She coughed and felt no built up mucus or stuffy nasal passageways.

"Que said she was a medicine doctor, right?"

"Yes, Tali. Why."

"I don't feel like death this morning. I mean, we... had an exchange of fluids last night."

"Huh, you do look radiant."

"Oh, why... thank you."

"We should stop by on our way out to get whatever she put in that tea," said Shepard.

"You know what, I think I will join you in that shower. I have always been curious about what one feels like." She leapt out of bed and jumped on Shepard's back. He piggyback rode her into the shower. It was warm, soothing, and relaxing. She liked the smell of Shepard's body wash but decided not to use it. It might irritate her skin, after all. Shepard helped dress Tali into her suit, learning more about quarian anatomy that he wished stayed a secret.

"Well hey, that is what comes with a quarian babe," he said. "High maintenance."

"I do all the work myself," she said back, "You get to do the fun stuff with me, like talk to me and use 'rocket fuel.'"

The sun peeked over the horizon like a egg yolk being cracked into a skillet and served sunny side up. Maybe that is where that term of cooking style came from, Tali thought. The first thing Gardner taught Tali how to cook was a fried egg and an omelet on the Normandy way back before the Suicide Mission.

_"Everyone needs to know how to make an omelet. If you have bad sex, an omelet is the perfectly acceptable way to apologize to your partner," _she remember him saying.

That bit made her nervous as she eyed Shepard eating breakfast on the Normandy, talking to Joker about upgrades over eggs and space toast. That was right after their first talk down in the engine room. She remembers Shepard catching her gaze and winking at her, which acted like a pinch - it proved to her that it was no dream when he talked to her and they expressed their feelings for each other. She ruined the egg, on the other hand.

"Are you ready for breakfast, Tali?"

"Yes. Does my suit look, you know, good?"

"'Snug in all the right places.'" Tali laughed at how terrible Shepard's Scottish accent was. Both of them left the room and turned off the lights. Shepard stuffed his pistol into his pants. Tali spun around to look at the room one more time before the door shut. The sheets on the bed were a mess.

Tali clutched onto the clothing Grandma gave her, yet it felt like she was holding onto a dirty secret. Grandma and Grandpa greeted them warmly as they walked in. Grandpa was reading the news on a holo-pad drinking orange juice, dressed sharper than ever while wearing khaki slacks with white tube socks, a brown leather belt, and a tucked in baby-blue polo shirt.

"Good morning sleepyheads. How'd you two sleep?" he asked craning his head towards them.

"Good."

"Fantastic!" Grandpa and Grandma were startled by Tali's reaction. "I mean good. Good... yes."

Tali sucked down some nutrient paste while listening to the three of them talk in a civilized manner. There was no yelling or talk about the Reapers or death. Shepard devoured six eggs, three pancakes and a package of bacon. He used the excuse of "big week ahead of him" instead of admitting that Tali drained every last bit of energy from him last night. They did it three times. She blames rocket fuel while Shepard said it was _all_ him. Cocky SOB.

"Well," Shepard looked at his omni-tool. "Damn."

"What?" asked Tali.

"Jack got put in jail, along with Zaeed. We need to bail them out. I am thinking we should get going."

"What did they do?"

"Tali, let's see here." He scrolled through some data. "Well, they fought ten Alliance Marines at a bar. It says Zaeed hit four of them over the head with a whiskey bottles and Jack used a pool stick to take out six of them. Miranda isn't too happy about this."

"Who are they?" asked Shepard's grandparents.

"Part of my crew. I hope you will be able to meet them someday."

"Well, that is the thing," said Grandpa, motioning towards some suitcases packed by the front door. "We thought you could drop us off at this apartment you were talking about. You know, outlast the Reapers until you kill them all."

Tali's fist snapped to her chest.

"I can do that," Shepard said. "We should get moving, Miranda says we need to get them out now." Tali and Shepard grabbed their suitcases and helped them pack their car.

"Since our car flies and yours doesn't, we will meet you at the Normandy. I am excited to see it," said Grandpa.

"Okay, I will give you access. Just tell them you are my grandparents."

"Roger that."

Grandpa and Grandma both stared at their house one last time. They didn't spill a single tear and got in the car. Both Tali and Shepard were so proud and waved goodbye as they soared over the Corvette that thundered down the highway. This was Tali's last time to say goodbye to this planet. It was good to her and to Shepard of whom grew up on it. As Shepard drove, they hit a stop sign in the middle of nowhere. Shepard could have just blasted though it since there were absolutely no police around and the fact that it probably hasn't been used in decades. He stopped anyways. The wind picked up and the grassy fields on either sides of them shimmered as Mother Nature sighed. Suddenly, something impacted the side of Tali's helmet and fell into her lap.

It was the note.

The key to Shepard's future.

Mango, once again, revisited her head. She could hear his creepy little voice.

"_Take the key. Use heed, Mother will know what to do._ _The choice is Mother's._"

"Mother Nature," Tali whispered, picking up the note.

"Is that what I think it is?" asked Shepard.

"Yeah, it just... hit me in the head a second ago. I guess the wind carried it to... to us," Tali said dumbfounded. Without thinking, she unrolled and read it aloud.

"_Hair full of gray, wife's hand in hand, watching the sun go down. He will parish of old age, nothing more, nothing less. Peacefully with Tali'Zorah. The second death it is."_

She looked at Shepard and he stared back. Shepard simply smiled and put the car into first gear. To Tali, he looked at least two inches taller sitting in that seat. Grinning, Tali put her hand out the window and played with the wind, letting it push it back and forth while driving towards Que's place to say goodbye and pick up some herbal supplements.

The wind.

_A breeze_.

To their left, a storm front was moving in. Tali had a feeling that in the coming week, the storm was going to hit, but for now - for this split second - it was just a gentle breeze before the storm.

**Well, I hope everyone enjoyed that little tale, which is the last of my pre-Mass Effect 3 stories. I hope to type some more in the future after the release of the big game we have all been waiting for. To all of you who post reviews/comments, those couple of words do a helluva lot more to me than you can image - they are a pushing force, two hands behind my back. To all of you, I love ya! **

** Now, just a few shout outs: Bill/VandalX187, you are the man. When you extended a helping hand to me (we are talking about editing, here) I accepted you and trusted you with my drafts, my work, my art. **

**Savakka1, you are one of the key people that has made me type all of these words and post them for people to see. Again, you are one of - if not the nicest person I have met on the internet. **

**modsoft, thanks for making and printing a book form of **_**Deception **_**for the fans of that story. To the rest of you have/haven't read that one yet, you can find his art here along with all the chapters: .com/1258913/blog/8606/**

**Other shout outs: Durxa, Narcotic, Renderer, o THE JUICE o, Suffering Soldier, Antique Nova, Para-Cord, GoG ToXiC, HellBovine, anon, Classic Blaze, and NucaCola, along with the hundreds of other people who have read my tales that have come solely from my heart. Each and every one of you have changed my life, so I thank you for that.**

**Stay tuned for more stories after I beat ME3! **


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